HELLDIVERS: A Remnant Force
by DELTAGOD
Summary: A squad of Super Earths elite military force, the HELLDIVERS, are on a routine mission when a strange discovery is made on a Bug controlled world. A Medic, a Com Specialist, a Major and a Mute are about to find themselves in a world needing copious amounts of well-managed Democracy. Met with this strange new world how will our soldiers fare? HELLDIVERS/RWBY Crossover
1. An Encounter of the Crystallized Kind

**A/N: Hey guys, here is a HELLDIVERS and RWBY crossover.**

 **To answer an already important question "Why is this in the normal RWBY section?" Well thats because HELLDIVERS doesn't have a fanfiction page yet.**

 **Anyways, tell me how Lumox and I did on writing this!**

 **Enjoy this story and review it too!**

 **Also HELLDIVERS is property of Arrowhead Game Studios and RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth**

 **In orbit above Navi VII, Bug Territory, Hunter Squad  
Aboard the **_**SEN (Super Earth Navy) Sword of Damocles**_

"No, no, and no… for the last time No! You can't requisition 4 EXO-44's, Yes Major, I understand it's for the advancement of Democracy, and Super Earth, but you can't call in that many EXO-44's in a single mission, limit is 2 at most." The supply officer checked his holographic clipboard several more, irritated, times before turning around.

"Come on, I mean… just this once?" Simmons held up his pointer finger, a sheepish grin on his face, as the supply officer gave him a deadpanned stare.

"No…" Came his reply as he promptly marched off towards the cargo bay, the door closed behind him leaving Simmons standing there in defeat.

Simmons pulled his arm in and snapped his fingers quietly before muttering "So close…" and walking back towards the bridge of the ship with a slight sigh.

Major Arthur Simmons, Hunter 1-1, leader of Hunter Squad. Simmons is revered and held in high-standings by those in the top brass. Government officials and soldiers alike have heard of Hunter Squad and their exploits in upholding the standards and views of Super Earth across the galaxy. Despite his stoic and serious demeanor in the face of government officials and high-ranking officers he appears differently to his comrades. His persona during battle is hectic and unmeasured, making plans up "on the fly" and, taking bounds and leaps to ensure victory by any means necessary.

6 feet 4 inches and well-built, the Major is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield and the tallest in Hunter squad. The Bugs, Cyborgs, and Illuminate that have perished by his hand number over 210 thousand in the name democracy. With just over 110 "accidents" he is second in line to the fewest "accidents" in Hunter Squad. Entering battle with an in-your-face philosophy and an itchy trigger finger the Major wields an SG-255 'Breaker' Shotgun. Capable of fully automatic fire and boasting a drum-magazine the Breaker is a solid, well rounded, shotgun.

Despite his fondness for shotguns, Simmons starts off his missions, be they threat level 1 or 12, with an EXO-44 Walker Exosuit. The EXO-44 is standard issue to the forces of Super Earth and boasts 8 anti-tank missiles on the right side mount and a heavy chain gun on the left mount. Limited stabilizers and aiming capabilities bring to bear the weaknesses of the EXO-44. The bipedal mech suffers from slow turning rate and the lack of any gimbaled weapon mounts means the entire, blocky, frame of the torso has to pivot to face the target. On top of this glaring problem is the lack of proper aiming reticule for the pilot. This can lead to some disastrous, and potentially fatal, accidents involving the rest of the squad and a few dozen stray, large-caliber, chaingun rounds.

In addition to his love of EXO's and shotguns there lays in his mind, and heart, a special place for the A/MG-II Minigun Turret. Three barrels of reinforced titanium spraying death down-range was quite appealing to Simmons. He showed an interest in the death machine, much to the fear and disdain of his squad mates, on their second operation. That day Simmons racked up his first three accidentals, in a record four seconds, when the extraction ship arrived and his squad mates found themselves between a spooled-up A/MG-II and a group of Bug warriors. The turret tore apart the Bugs… and his squad mates who, unfortunately, found themselves to be chest high with the turrets barrels. When the transport arrived back at the ship in orbit he stepped off into the cargo bay and was met with three, incredibly irritated squad mates who gave him a few choice words of disagreement with his turret. However, these words have had no effect on Simmons as he continues to carry at least two of the A/MG-II's into battle. Compared to his love of the turrets his fashion sense seems toned down but retains at the same level of importance.

Simmons carries himself with pride every time he exits the locker room with his Arctic design helmet cradled in the crook of his right arm, his favorite, and only cradling spot for the helmet. The knee-length rounded cape flowed behind him with a single longer rectangle of fabric stretched a few inches further than the end of the cape. The capes golden highlights shone even in the dim light of the ship. The white and grey digital camouflage of his jacket showed through the plates of armor that protected his chest, shoulders, shins, and forearms. A dull grey and black finish on the plates completed the look of the armor. Designed for conflict on Arctic planets the armor that shared the name was built for just that, two goals in mind. The first, being warm in below zero temperatures and protecting the soldier inside from claws, bullets, and lasers. A thermal imaging camera on the front of the helmet helped no matter the type of planet he had visited. Rounding off in the back orange plates covered the cheeks and ended just before the chin where a white plate of metal finished off the mask. A small antenna and communications box lay to the right of the visor where a connected piece of reinforced glass creates a viewport in the front of the helmet above the wearer's nose. Although the suit looked new, one could find many dozens, even hundreds, of scratches and dents in the armor under the fresh paint.

The door to the bridge hissed open as he made his way onto the upper deck. A large window looking out onto the surface of the swampy planet they orbited. Over the planet's horizon the inky blackness of space sprawled out, many tens of billions of small lights penetrated the blackness. Hundreds of billions of planets laid near those stars, all under the watchful eye of Super Earth. Her iron fist, in the form of the Helldivers, ever reaching. Helldivers are the best of the best in the Super Earths armed forces. Fearless in both life and death they are launched at Super Earths endangered planets at supersonic speeds, ready to destroy those who threaten the very existence of Democracy throughout the galaxy. Super Earths personal Democracy Police and upholders of her morals and way of life. Death is something faced, and experienced, daily for a Helldiver. Being some of the only men and women in the galaxy to be able to die more than once. Experimentation and research in cloning has rendered the Helldivers immortal for lack of a better description. Upon death the Helldivers memories are loaded into a new body that is pre-loaded into a Hellpod with their previous equipment loadout and launched back to the planet's surface once a squad mate deploys a reinforcement beacon. Simmons sighed as he looked from the planet back to the bridge.

His eyes shifted from the room to the Hellpods. Three other helldivers, dressed in different armors, stood looking at the galactic map. The three of them stood with their helmets on discussing the plan of attack for the planet's surface when they spotted Major Simmons on the edge of the room. One of them spoke towards him as he made his way towards the table.

"So… the four EXO's, what did he say?" Simmons couldn't see it but he could tell they were smiling as he shrugged and shook his head.

A collective groan of disappointment rising from the three as Simmons chuckled at their reaction.

"Come on! I mean what does he think you are going to do with them, throw them at the enemy? If you can even find them, that is." Came a response to Simmons's report followed by a low chuckle after the last part.

Corporal Nikolai 'Map' Vadimovich Shcherbatykh, Hunter 1-2, navigation specialist and communications officer. Without Nikolai Hunter squad would still be on most planets they've visited. Being the eyes, the ears, and the mouth for Hunter squad is a responsibility that Nikolai upholds to its fullest.

Rising to a whopping 5 feet 8 inches Nikolai is ranked the shortest in Hunter squad. Being a communications officer has rendered him lacking in the size department. With all of the running around he does on mission he is quite slim, although still larger than the fourth member of Hunter squad. In battle he has communicated with hostile forces through high velocity means and achieved 193,494 kills on his record. While he is well versed in conveying Democracy through external means he is quite inept at conveying his actions to the rest of Hunter squad. This is shown by a rather high "accidents" count at 148.

Being the least directionally challenged he keeps his head cool and his action on the field calculated. The philosophy "Accuracy in quantity" is how he gets things done. Nikolai joins the fray with a trusty MG-105 'Stalwart' light machine gun in his hands. Despite being in a role considered "Non-combative" by normal military forces, Nikolai lays down the pain upon the enemies of Democracy. The 'Stalwart' is ridiculously inaccurate and unstable, bouncing around quite a bit, but can unleash stupid amounts firepower downrange in a short span of time. Following his philosophy closely his call down list includes several high volume and high powered support options from SEN Sword of Damocles. An 'Eagle' fighter/bomber, as well as standard strafing runs, unleashes a line of 30mm rounds and four heat-seeking anti-tank missiles to completely destroy any soft to moderately armored targets in the area of operation. In addition to this, the ship that remains in orbit can fire its main rail battery on a designated zone for devastating results and the obliteration of any target unlucky enough to stand in the Helldivers way.

Raised in the harshest, and most inhospitable place on Super Earth Nikolai has become accustomed to living in close proximity to weather that is almost trying to actively kill you or turn him into a walking Hell-sicle. The temperatures on the planets helldivers can visit reach anywhere from 200 degrees fahrenheit, not in the lava mind you, to -70 degrees Fahrenheit. He feels at home on the Arctic planets, it's just nostalgic for him to be in way below zero temperatures since his hometown on super earth would reach temperatures as low as -89 degrees fahrenheit and even as low as -108 degrees fahrenheit at times.

Following in line with his heritage, Nikolai joins the battle in a special, all-terrain, suit of Helldiver armor. Swapping out armor plating on the upper-legs and arms in return for a double-thick jacket and pants. Elbow-high fully insulated and cold resistant gloves prevent instant hypothermia and thigh-high boots that seal at the ankles create a warm and quite comfortable environment inside the suit. The only armor that stayed was a padded and further insulated variant of the standard armor, only reaching down to his upper abdomen. His cape is thicker and wider than any other Helldiver cape since its job is to offer a larger area of protection against the elements. The cape also connects to the helmet. The helmet that comes with the all-terrain suit is smaller and much lighter than those found on other armors but is connected to the cape by being hooded. The mask is a tight fitting, all black protector that covers the entirety of the face and is the least elegant of all the Helldiver masks but works just as well. Alongside the mask there are a pair of built-in snow goggles that offer glare-protection while keeping an airtight seal and insulation. Along with the cape, the hood is also lined with a thick animal fur and keeps snow and ash, or flying debris, out of his face. Completing the suit, a sash crosses from left to right over his chest where two large ice-picks hang from it. The black and orange picks are acid and rust resistant since Nikolai uses them for more than just climbing. By the end of any given battle the picks are stained with any number of fluids ranging from the Stalker Bugs acidic blood to the oil from a Cyborgs machinery.

"Really? I mean you normally call in both of yours and they mostly stay intact for the duration of the mission. For a Helldiver squad we're quite careful… Now that's not taking into account my useage of the EXO-51..." Stated one of the other two Helldivers before trailing off, his filtered mask muffling his voice as he mumbled.

Warrant Officer Wulff 'Doc' Ferdinand, Hunter 1-3, support specialist. His rather important job is keeping the squad moving. Whether it be healing, or shooting the slow and injured his job has earned him the title of "Doc" from the rest of the Helldivers in Hunter Squad. Being a medic has desensitized Wulff to any kind of bodily harm or fluids that he may encounter on the battlefield.

Standing at a standard 6 feet and 2 inches Wulff is the middle man in the Hunter squad height game. Slightly more meaty than Simmons while maintaining the Helldiver required fitness quota. Whether it be Bug, Illuminate, or Cyborg they all have to face the "Doc". Wulff has racked up over 200,869 kills on hostile forces in the defense of democracy. While his kills impressive he stands at first place for the fewest "accidents" in Hunter squad, only 94. During battle Wulff's vocabulary, while containing many medical phrases, does not include quick and painless. Many Illuminate and Cyborg fighters understand Wulff's obsession with slow death.

Wulff enters battle with a rather short ranged, but deadly Flam-24 'Pyro' instead of the standard issue P-2 'Peacemaker' pistol. Preferring the slow burning of targets over time. As far as other weapons go Wulff like to keep things consistent with his obsession over slow death by heaving the TOX-13 'Avenger' on standby at all times. The TOX-13 attacks the central nervous system and starts by shutting down major organs and brain functions until the affected organism dies from extreme shock, total organ failure, destruction of the brain, or a combination of the aforementioned effects. Alongside the chemical and incendiary arsenal that Wulff has as his secondaries he also carries with him an acid-based primary rifle. The AR-14D 'Paragon' is Wulffs go-to weapon for any target at a range. The 'Paragon' fires seizure inducing, neurotoxin laced rounds. Albeit the rounds poison isn't as potent as the TOX-13's, they will still cause total organ failure and death in a few seconds. However being a medic requires him, by Helldiver standards and regulations, to have at least one non-death-causing tool at his disposal. This comes in the form of the AD-289 'Angel'. A semi-sentient drone capable of healing anything from small fractures and internal bleeding to severe external bleeding and missing limbs… to an extent.

Wulff also brings with him a variant of Sampson's beloved EXO-44, the EXO-51. The EXO-51 'Lumberer' is equipped to deal with large groups of enemies by way of its large flamethrower mounted on the left side of the torso. While the flamethrower is deadly to large groups the 90mm cannon on the right side of the hull fires high-explosive armor-piercing shells at near mach 1. The shells can devastate large numbers of tightly grouped, heavily armored targets with ease. However, the 'Lumberer' is only called in when Wulff's TOX-13 and Flam-24 aren't cutting it in battle.

Accompanying Wulff's close proximity to neurotoxins and incendiaries a hazmat variant of the Helldiver armor is his normal choice for missions. On his back is the hazard ops cape, lined with chemical resistant material its main purpose is to deflect acids. However, the cape is also designed smaller than most other Helldiver capes due to its close proximity to chemicals and other corrosive materials. This is where the thin at the bottom and wide at the top design comes into play, limiting the capes chance to come in contact with the hazardous materials. A large neurotoxin and smoke nullifying filter sticks out from the left side of his helmet with a long tube running from the right side of the mask down to the chest-mounted air tank. Sporting long elbow-length gloves and tall knee-high boots designed to offer more protection against toxins and incendiaries as the name implies. While less armored than Simmons's suit, it is still reinforced and offers excellent torso protection. Small shoulder pads, upper arm guards, thigh pads, and a lower torso plate covers limited parts of his body.

A low growl alerted the other three of them to the fourth Helldiver present at the table. Wulff, Simmons, and Nikolai all turned slowly to the fourth and final member of Hunter Squad who had moved away from the table and was holding a private at gunpoint.

Hastings... just Hastings, Hunter 1-4, designated marksman and explosives expert. The job of killing heavily armored targets and procurement of samples for the R&D department, or as he calls it "SCIENCE", has been a role he fills quite well. Once he sees his "SCIENCE" nothing will stop him, not even a behemoth. On the battlefield Hastings rarely speaks except for the times he yells "SCIENCE" or when someone gets a little too close to his RL-112 Recoilless Rifle. However, when that happens he normally grunts, which might be able to be called speech, and points his rifle at the offender. His philosophy is if it moves it dies except Simmons…. Simmons is cool.

Hastings stands at 6 feet tall, making him the third shortest, and has a slim build enabling him to move quickly. Hastings has racked up 376,482 confirmed kills due to his uncanny marksmanship and his recoilless rifle. On the flip-side there have also been 231 so called "accidents" reportedly caused by Hastings weather it be a "misfired" round from his rifle or an airstrike a bit too close to friendly's. Although the fact that Simmons has not obtained a scratch from any of these incidents leads the other two members, and most common victims, to believe these are not accidents.

Hastings enters battle with a weathered LHO-63 high caliber, semi-automatic marksman rifle along with the standard issue P-2 'Peacemaker' and his RL-112 Recoilless Rifle which he is inseparable from as the previous supply officer found out the hard way and requested reassignment to another ship after he was shot five times in the knee after trying to take Hastings's Recoilless Rifle or as he calls her "Celia" which the rest of the crew speculates he has "known" the longest, for he treats Celia as a friend and can sometimes be heard whispering affectionately to Celia. Hastings rarely misses a shot for he has had a lot of experience with his rifle, the Peacemaker and Celia. Since you can't fit into a Hellpod with anything on you back other than a cape, Hastings personally places Celia in a calldown pod, and as the crew responsible for loading the pods have learned not to try to stop him for if you do you'll end up with a shattered knee cap or a gun pointed at your face and a man angrily grunting at you. Hastings favors offensive support rather than supplies or defense, he carries a beacon to inform the Sword of Damocles to fire its railguns at the specified target. during fire fights the squad has had to get used to the psychotic laughter that Hastings emits while shooting friend or foe alike.

Hastings's armour has stayed the same since Simmons… found him... in the god forsaken desert used as the Helldivers training ground. No one knows how long Hastings had been in that desert or how he got there because even the SEHC (Super Earth High Command) had no record of him until Simmons found him wandering through the facility destroying whatever moved. Hastings is clad in a short tattered cape that was most likely taken from a deceased candidate as was the rest of his apparel. He wears a black hooded helmet with a golden trim. Hastings refuses to take off his helmet so no one knows what his face looks like, and frankly people don't want to know. To match his scavenged apparel he wears a tattered yellow desert shawl around his neck. His torso is covered in a tan long sleeved tunic with light body armour and elbow length gloves since the desert is blanketed in a smoldering heat so if laden with heavier clothing movement gets more difficult and death comes more quickly. Although Hastings still wears his apparel on arctic missions but no one notices a decrease in proficiency or hears a complaint, probably because the fact that he doesn't talk much. Hasting's legs are covered by brown trousers and knee high boots. Not much is known about Hastings except that he is overprotective of recoilless rifle Celia, has high scores in marksmanship, and is referred to as Hastings because that's the only thing he would say when Simmons asked him for his name. Besides that, his loyalty to Simmons is like that of a dog and Simmons come first to everything except for Celia and SCIENCE.

A quick survey from Simmons summed up what the situation was like. A recoilless rifle on the floor and an Private staring down the barrel of a pistol belonging to Hastings put the pieces in place. The private had probably just taken a wrong step and knocked over the recoilless rifle, or Celia, on accident but then furthered the issue by attempting to pick it up.

"No one make any sudden movements, this Privates life is on the line." Came Simmons's rather unsettled voice as everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the crisis unfold in a nonchalant way.

Simmons leaned towards Wulff slightly before whispering to him, a hint of boredom prevalent in his words.

"First day?" Simmons asked as they watched the Private stand there with a look that portrayed a feeling of utter regret.

"Most likely, but I mean he should have been briefed on this before coming on-board." Wulff replied back, just blankly staring at Hastings who was now angrily grunting at the Private and waving the pistol around.

It was common knowledge around the ship that Hastings was a loose cannon and almost impossible to communicate with under normal circumstances, let alone agitated circumstances.

"Someone… oh for the love of Democracy! Do I have to do everything around here? Hastings, stop that this instant!" Simmons commanded as Hastings reluctantly stopped his actions and sat down on the nearby railing after collecting Celia.

The private let out a sigh of relief as he slowly backed away before exiting through the door on the right side of the room. The door hissed shut as Hastings pushed off from the railing and walked over to the other three.

Looking around the room Simmons saw that the rest of the crew had never left their stations to begin with and had carried on working through the whole ordeal.

"Well, I guess that it is normal around here…." Nikolai stated with a shrug, noticing Simmons looking at the lack of a reaction.

After Nikolai spoke they all turned back to face the map they had abandoned when Simmons walked in.

"So…. what are we doing today? 9, 10, 11?" Simmons rattled off a few danger levels as he stared at the map and flicked around a few of the planets in their system.

"Well, we're already over Navi VII and it's rated as an 11…" That was as far as Nikolai got before Simmons and Wulff were already in their pods. However, before Simmon's pod completely closed he yelled something out.

"Come on you assbandits, get in your pods now or I'll kill ya when we land!" That statement was enough to get Nikolai's ass in gear and send Hastings scurrying to load Celia into a supply Hellpod.

Only ten seconds later and all of Hunter Squad was loaded in their pods and ready to go. The countdown blared throughout the ship as it prepared to launch the live cargo towards a hellzone littered with hundreds, if not thousands, of Democracy's enemies.

Being launched from a Hellpod for the first time is quite an experience but as Hunter squad has learned it gets quite repetitive, routine, and bland. Not to mention the soreness you feel the next day if you survive the hostiles on the planet's surface.

Only 20 seconds after they entered their pods a deafening bang of launch followed by the feeling of your stomach, heart, and liver entering your throat as you reach speed in excess of Mach 2. And only 10 seconds after that the rapid deceleration from speed-of-sound to zero in only a millisecond which tends to happen when hitting the planet's surface.

Mist surrounded the four steaming pod's as moderate rain fell around them. The pods hissed open one by one letting their heroic cargo emerge onto the planet's surface. Simmons was the first one out and almost immediately had his radio in-hand and a beacon on the ground in 5 seconds flat.

The next to arrive was Hastings, a small grunt coming from the pod as it opened, a beacon flying out before Hastings himself had emerged. He was already a little jumpy from lack of contact with Celia. As Hastings was having his fit, Nikolai emerged from his pod and the ground shook as an EXO-44 walker crashed into the ground. An eager Simmons launched himself into the cockpit, bypassing the ladder all together.

Last but not least was a mildly peeved Wulff, seeing as swampy planets weren't on his list of "places I want to go". Wulff stretched and met-up with Nikolai who dove away from a rapidly expanding shadow. As he landed a pod slammed into the ground where he was just standing and opened up revealing Celia to Hastings who emitted a joyous shriek while diving at his beloved.

"Alright men," Simmons started as he pulled out his pda, "Our mission is simple, smash a Brood Commander, set up a drill for Super Earth, capture a designated zone in the name Democracy, and finally oversee the successful launch of a missile." Simmons finished his briefing as a small chitter was heard from behind them.

Hasting was fast on his feet as he quickly spun around and dispatched three Vanguards with three shots from his LHO-63 rifle. The carcasses oozed orange blood as they twitched slightly. The EXO-44 containing Simmons turned towards Hastings before speaking.

"Nice shots Hastings…" Hastings let out a small satisfactory grunt as Simmons congratulated him on his marksmanship.

However not a moment later another group was spotted off to the south. Pulling out the his map, Nikolai updated Simmons on the appearance of several patrols around them. Simmons nodded before addressing the squad from the EXO.

"We need to make haste towards the objectives, finish them, and then evacuate quickly. No dilly dallying…" Although just as Simmons had spoken a small, shiny object caught Hastings's eye. His pupils dilated and his mouth opened in his helmet as he let out a yell and rushed towards the shiny sample.

"SCIENCE!" Hastings exclaimed as he bee-lined towards the small sample of Bug organics. Diving before sliding in the mud towards the sample. Hastings slid past the sample and reached out, scooping it up in his arms before depositing it in a large satchel at his side.

The rest of Hunter Squad just looked on in silence as he made his way back to the group and returned to Simmons's side. Nikolai looked at Wulff who returned the look with a shrug before they resumed following Simmons and Hastings. The thump of the EXO's metal feet in the mud echoed slightly as dulled chitters could be heard in the distance, keeping Hunter Squad on alert.

The first two mission went relatively well with the Bug patrols being dispatched as soon as they appeared. The zone had been captured and the geological drill deployed when the squad started heading towards the missile site. Upon reaching the missile site Hunter Squad found the lack of patrols in the area unsettling as Nikolai went to startup the launch sequence.

It was at this exact moment went south. The first problem was the sudden appearance of Vanguards from all directions. They frantically fired hoping to at least cut half of them down before they called for their big brothers to enter the fray. However, a dozen of them still remained when a red mist burst from them and a screech rang out from their mandibles.

"Well shit, here they come!" Yelled Wulff as he pulled out his TOX-13 and 'Angel' left his back to tend to any injuries during the coming fight.

The barrel on Simmons's EXO-44 started spinning as the rounds were inserted into their chambers, ready to discharge at the first sign of a large swarm of Bugs.

"Hell this is my favorite part! How bout a nice hot cup of Liber-tea!" Nikolai exclaimed as he pulled out his 'Stalwart' light machine gun and opened fire into the crowd of Bugs.

"Stay close together!" Simmons yelled as the group fired in all directions at the encroaching horde.

Simmons was doing the most damage with his EXO as Stalkers, Warriors, Elites, and even Vanguards poured forth from the swamps and muddy soil meeting hot lead from their weapons. They were struggling to keep holding them back when suddenly the ground shook and an Impaler's tentacles burst from the ground in front of them.

"Don't stick together, spread out, move!" Came Simmons frantic call as he reversed his order and Hunter Squad dispersed, minus Hastings who was laughing like a madman as he pulled Celia from his back.

Orange tentacles swinging around wildly smashing its allies into the ground trying to crush the Helldivers. Simmons was unable to turn his torso towards the Impaler as a tentacle smashed into the side of the hull and caved in the rocket pod.

"God dammit! Move, get away!" Simmons yelled as Nikolai, who was right next to his walker started sprinting away.

Simmons flew from the back of the EXO as the pod erupted into flames. His feet carrying him only 20 feet before he hit the dirt and slid in the mud, pulling himself around a rock. Only a second later the EXO exploded outwards, pieces of shrapnel found their marks in the Bugs and severed one of the Impaler tentacles.

Hastings completely disregarded the exploding EXO and had given up on "giving shit number one" or "trying to find his one fuck" aimed at the Impaler with his recoilless rifle and depressed the trigger. A cloud of smoke and compressed air ejected backwards, vaporizing a Stalker sneaking up on him, as the the shell shot forward impaling the Impalers unprotected face hole punching straight through and tearing a large chunk out of the Impalers back, Hastings then crouched down giggling to himself as he reloaded Celia.

"Okay, group up, the missile's about to take off. Just a few more seconds." Simmons ordered as Hunter Squad regrouped and eliminated the rest of the bugs, albeit Simmons was a little miffed about his lost walker.

Nikolai had run out of ammunition in his 'Stalwart' magazine and slung it onto his back as an Elite charged him. Letting out a yell he jumped at the elite, his ice picks in hand as he started smashing through the Bugs thick chitin. Simmons wash unleashing his 'Breakers' magazine into the waves of Bugs being slowly pushed back.

Wulff had emptied his TOX-13 onto a horde of Warriors and Elites, observed in unbridled glee as they slowly twitched and stopped moving. However that was cut slightly short with the appearance of a Stalker. The invisible beast appeared right behind Wulff who was still admiring his handiwork when the Stalker closed the distance.

"Doc, behind you!" Yelled Nikolai who had just leapt off of the Elites body covered in orange blood.

Wulff Turned around just as a long scythe-like arm pierced through his abdomen, lifting him off the ground. He coughed as blood splattered on the inside of his helmet, before a small smirk edged its way onto his features.

"Great…now I've got you where I want you!" Doc yelled out as he pulled out his Flam-24 sidearm and shoved it in the Stalkers mouth.

The Bug screeched as its insides burned and flung Wulff from its blade and into the mud. As the Stalker fell over dead Wulff stood up slowly, a large hole in the left side of his lower torso.

"Well… thats gonna need some patching up." Doc stated in a monotone as 'Angel' flew over and started applying it's healing beam to the hole.

After a few seconds the hole started closing and the skin reforming, followed closely by the uniform. The drone tilted slightly, appearing satisfied with it's work, before landing on Wulffs back and entering a recharge state.

"You know that some days I wonder how many more times you would have died without that thing." Simmons stated as they started moving towards the last objective, finding and killing a Brood Commander.

By no means was killing the Brood Commander an easy task. Pitch-black plates of chitin and bright orange claws, they are rumored to be some of the toughest Bugs in existence. Soldiers of Super Earth tell of entire battalions being wiped out by these rampaging beasts. Even to a highly-trained and well-equipped Helldiver squad they can be almost impossible to take down. Hunter Squad continued through the rain and knee-high muck towards the site where the Brood Commander had been spotted earlier than day.

"Remember guys, these Brood Commander can be tough as hell to kill. Engage with extreme prejudice." Simmons ordered in a hushed tone as he motioned for them to enter a lower stance.

Hunter Squad, now crouching through the muck, entered the large area where the Brood Commander was said to be located.

Their laser sights scanned the treelines and swamps as they moved in unison trying to find their target. Every now and then a small glimpse of shiny chitin, or dripping acid caught their attention and soon after the corpse of a Stalker or Vanguard would fall into the muddy soil after a single weapon discharge. Another 2 minutes passed without a glimpse nor a hint as to where the Brood Commander was there.

"We should have found him by now." Wulff stated as he looked down the sights of his rifle.

"Yeah, maybe he's sleeping?" Nikolai questioned jokingly as they both chuckled, Simmons quickly shushing them. Simmons was on edge as he stopped moving and the rest of the squad stopped next to him.

"What's the matter Major?" Nikolai questioned as he continued to scan their surroundings. Turning around for a second he could see that Simmons was calling down his second EXO-44. Simmons turned and threw the beacon. The orb bounced a few times before coming to rest near a large boulder.

"Cover me for a few seconds…" Simmons had started before the boulder that the beacon landed next to let out a low growl and started shifting. Simmons looked on in horror as the boulder bolted to the side quickly as the EXO landed right next to it, clearly startling it.

"What are the chances of that? Map guessed right this time!" Wulff exclaimed in slight shock at the fact that Nikolai's joke was actually correct.

"No…" Simmons whispered out as he reached out a hand, a sadness and feeling of helplessness washed over him as the Brood Commander looked at the EXO for a second before smashing it off of its feet and into a nearby wall.

The completely destroyed EXO smoked and sparked as Simmons watched in disbelief. However Nikolai and Simmons knew that once the Brood Commander had destroyed his unused EXO all bets on this being not leading to death were off.

"My EXO… you destroyed my EXO!" Simmons yelled out without thinking as the Brood Commander stared right at them with its piercing red eyes.

A chill went down their spines as the Bug clicked its mandibles a few times before pounding the ground with it's hind legs and claws suggesting that it was about to charge at them.

"Disperse, don't give it a group to target, Hastings… you know what to do!" Simmons barked out orders as the over-sized beetle charged them.

Simmons, Hastings, and Nikolai had evaded the charge but the Bug was headed straight for Wulff who turned his head to see a 20-odd-feet-tall Brood Commander bearing down on him. He let out a loud sigh as he found himself in the thick mire. Hastings took aim with his launcher and pulled the trigger, the round flying down-range. The round impacted the Bugs armored side. However, what happened next only made them, minus Wulff who had given up on life, open their mouths in shock as the Brood Commander glowed with a bright orange and yellow before the shell deflected off to the side and exploded. Hastings' eye twitched slightly as he continued to stare through the sight at the Brood Commander.

"What the hell! Do these things have god-damned shields!?" Nikolai yelled out in shock as the Brood Commander picked Wulff up in its claw.

Wulff let out a pained yell as the Bug closed its claw all the way slicing him in-half at the waist. The two bloody sections falling to either side as the Brood Commander turned to face the three remaining members of Hunter Squad excluding Hastings.

"Apparently so… we need to find a way to get through that things... whatever the hell it is... and kill it!" Simmons yelled back to Nikolai as they started baiting it around.

Simmons and Nikolai frantically fired as the Brood Commander charged towards them. The shots proving futile as they hit the "shield" and either bounced off or shattered on impact. The Brood commander changed direction forcing Simmons to dive to the the left as the Brood Commander missed him and started following Nikolai.

Hastings finished reloading Celia and wasted no time as he brought up the launcher and fired, the shell impacting the field yet again before detonating off to the side. The launcher slouched slightly in Hastings grip as he glared daggers at the Bug letting out a silent internal scream in his head.

"It looks it would take something close to a Hellpod to kill that thing!" Nikolai exclaimed his thought out-loud as an idea popped into both his and Simmons heads at the same time.

Simmons and Nikolai locked eyes for a second before Simmons pulled out his radio and produced a beacon from his backpack . The frequent and rather annoying beeping followed by the shaking of Wulff's name in the squad status window was starting to wear on Simmons as he threw the beacon out. Looking to the left he saw Nikolai still baiting the Brood Commander.

"Map! Bring him over here, now!" Simmons ordered as Nikolai grunted back between puffs.

A large shadow had appeared near the beacon as Nikolai sprinted over it, the Brood Commander nipping at his heels as a loud whistle was heard from above. Diving, Nikolai narrowly dodged a messy Hellpod related death. The Brood Commander on the other-hand, took it quite poorly. The shield around it fluctuated violently before the entire Bug glowed and faded letting the Hellpod through.

As the dust cleared, Nikolai, Hastings, and Simmons walked over to the body of the Brood Commander. The pod had smashed through the Brood Commanders thick shell and pinned it to the ground. The only noise was a hissing from the flesh sizzling on the atmosphere-heated Hellpod as Simmons creeped over to the Brood Commander. Climbing up on it he found the large hole and peaked over the edge, locating the Hellpod at the bottom.

"Hey, you alive in there Doc?" Simmons jokingly cupped his hands around his mask and shouted into the gore-filled hole.

A few seconds later a muffled grumble could be heard as a hand reached out of the pod, trying to find a handhold on the organs of the Brood Commander.

Simmons looked over his shoulder as the extraction beacon landed, Hastings rushing over and activated the countdown for extraction. Turning back to the hole he found Wulff clawing his way up the wall of the hole in the Brood Commanders body. Cursing and grunting as he climbed before something caught his eye. He tilted his head slightly before pulling his arm back and thrusting it through the tissue and towards the glowing object.

"What the hell are you doing down there Doc, the transport's going to be here in 20 seconds!" Simmons said in a bit of a rush as he could see the transport entering atmosphere.

Looking back into the hole he saw Wulff holding a bloody crystal of sorts. It glowed and was shifting between many different colors and looked as unsettling as it did beautiful.

"Bring that with us, the egg-heads could use some more sam…" Simmons stopped himself and looked over his shoulder at a now mildly interested Hastings, tilting his head and grunting a little at Simmons's unfinished statement. However, his curiosity and attention was cut short by the roaring engines of the transport as it landed on the beacon.

Simmons looked at Wulff as he finally emerged from the corpse, the glowing crystal in his hands. Wulff shrugged as Simmons returned the gesture and they ran to the transport where Hastings and Nikolai were waiting in their seats.

"What took you guys so long?" Nikolai questioned as Hastings grunted. It was at this moment that Hastings and Nikolai spotted the crystal that Wulff was holding.

"What in the hell is that Doc?!" Nikolai exclaimed in slight shock at seeing the glowing, multicolored crystal. Hasting let out a grunt of disappointment that he had missed such an obvious sample.

"I would love to tell you what it is, but both myself and Doc are equally as baffled by what it is. Doc found it inside the Brood Commander." Simmons stated as he took a seat across from Hastings and Nikolai with Wulff taking his seat as the transport lifted off.

"I think it has something to do with the 'shield' that the Brood Commander had around him." They all looked at Wulff, waiting for answers that would never come.

"I have no idea what it is, but I think we could develop technology of our own using it." Wulff had supplied them with no further answers as he held it out and observed it.

"It looks too… machined, like its…" Nikolai stated as he looked at it.

"Man-made?" Simmons finished Nikolai's thought as they all realized what this could mean. Anything from Illuminate cooperation with the Bugs to an unharnessed element, one democracy could use in these trying times.

"We'll talk more about this once the scientists study it back on the ship." Simmons stated as he took the crystal from Wulff and put it in Hastings' sample pack, a content grunt coming from his mask.

The transport's landing gear clanked loudly against the floors of the hanger as the bay door slammed shut following the craft's landing. The doors to the shuttle opened and the four members of Hunter Squad filled out of the transport. The first person they saw was the Admiral.

"Admiral…" They said as they saluted, all of them except Hastings who just gave a quick grunt and a nod.

"At ease gentlemen, now from what I gathered from the boys in intel there was a strange… finding, am I right?" The Admiral clasped his hands behind his back as he looked to the squad, Hastings in particular.

Wulff nodded before walking over to Hastings, pausing a minute allowing Hastings to nod before removing a crystal from the sack. It was, by all measurements and description, a perfect diamond. Alongside the shape came a multitude of colors that appeared to bounce around and swirl around on the inside of the crystal.

"This… this is what we found." Wulff stated as he held the crystal out to the Admiral.

The Admiral took it in his hands before turning to a group of science officers and handing it off to them. As they placed the crystal in the container it let out a small flash before the container sealed completely causing the scientists to pause briefly before continuing.

"We have no idea what it is… or where it came from for that matter. For all we know it could be, most likely, an Illuminate device of some sort." Simmons stated in a monotone as he watched the cart exit the room, the two scientists by its side.

"The science division will take care of it. In the meantime, congratulations on Navi VII!" The Admiral had shifted his personality a full 180 and was patting them on the backs, again minus Hastings, for their actions on the surface.

The small display was interrupted as the Admirals PDA rang and he pulled it out. His switched to one of slight irritation before he looked up to Hunter Squad and flashed a small smile. Simmons saw the screen briefly and it read "R&D".

"Sorry, I have to take this one." He pointed to the PDA, "Oh, but you four head to the bridge and plan our next mission, I will be there shortly." Hunter Squad saluted and departed as the Admiral answered the call and paced back and forth.

Words of encouragement and congratulation were shared with them as they made their way down the various hallways and corridors that lead to the bridge. The crew that they ran into to were in high spirits and as energetic as they always are. Living to serve Super Earth and upholding her morals had quite the effect on the soldiers as Hunter Squad had accepted as well.

A minute later and they had reached the bridge. Simmons immediately head to the map table and started looking for another planet to liberate.

"Level 10?" He questioned as he looked to the rest of his squad, most of whom replied with a half-hearted "Nah".

"What about an 8?" Simmons went a little lower to see if his squad was just tired of dying over and over.

"Sure…" Came Wulffs slightly more enthusiastic response as they looked to Nikolai.

"Eh… Why the hell not?" Nikolai said with a smirk on his face under his helmet.

The three of them turned to Hastings who was cradling Celia. Hasting looked up from his recoilless rifle and let out a low grunt as Simmons looked back to the other two.

"Looks like it's settled then, Augustus VIII, Desert Planet." Simmons selected the planet and hit the travel button.

" **Slipspace drive charging, 10 seconds until launch."** The female AI stated

The countdown to slipspace travel appeared on the screen as a loud banging was heard on the door followed by the fevered scratching of a key-card.

"What the hell is that?" Simmons questioned as the door hissed and burst open.

" **9 seconds until launch."**

The man who burst in was breathing heavily as he fell next to the table and put his hand on the railing. He pulled with all his might and got to his feet as he took another deep breath. Nikolai let out a small chuckle as the flipped his knife around a few times.

" **Slipspace drive charged! 8 seconds until launch"**

"Wait... C-Cancel the jump!" He wheezed out as he stood up and tried to touch the board.

However as he reached for the map it started flashing and changing colors rapidly. They all looked to the countdown as the voice started freaking out.

" **S-s-slipspace A-a-a-anomaly d-d-detected! W-warn… warning! Ab-abort I-I-Immediately! Critical system and navigation failure detected!"**

"That can't be good." Wulff stated in a monotone as the stars in front of the ship stretched and the tubular Slipspace stream opened.

"That's not normal." Simmons stated as they all looked at the tube of light and saw that it was rapidly changing colors before sticking to a solid, pitch black.

The ship started violently shaking as the pitch black enveloped the area around the ship.

"Grab onto something, I don't care what!" Simmons ordered as the crew in the bridge buckled in and held on.

Wulff grabbed onto the nearby railing. Nikolai hopped into the seat he was sitting next to and strapped in. Hastings held onto a different railing than Wulff, but not before buckling in Celia. The map shutdown and the pitch black light turned to a rainbow of intense color before the ship jolted with near impossible speed and violence as people were sent flying and, for most of the crew, everything went black.

 **A/N: So... thats it for the first chapter!**

 **Leave a review with any suggestions or comments**

 **Also don't forget to favorite and follow!**


	2. Crystallized Chaos

**A/N: Chapter II of HELLDIVERS is out and ready to go!  
HELLDIVERS is property of Arrowhead Studios  
RWBY is property of Roosterteeth  
Hunter Squad and their OC's are an original idea of Mine and Lumox's**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Simmons felt a constant shaking coming from his right as he opened his left eye and found himself staring at the ceiling of the bridge.

"God damn, my fucking head!" Simmons cursed as he looked to his left and found a possibly worried Hastings, the source of the shaking.

He nodded to Hastings who quickly returned a grunt before picking himself up off the ground and made his way over to the intercom. Pushing down the big red "Transmit" button he cleared his throat.

"Hello, this is Major Simmons of Hunter Squad… can anyone hear me? It appears as though we have no casualties in the bridge, how copy." Simmons let go of the button before smashing a nearby panel and pulling out an airhorn.

The emergency air horn was a personal modification. For any situation in which a soldier was found sleeping on the job, or in this case unconscious and sprawled out on the floor. Wulff was a priority for rousing since his medical expertise would be critical. Soon enough Simmons located Nikolai, jammed between the table and the floor he looked pretty stuck but his vitals showed he was still breathing. In fact what surprised Simmons was the relatively few number of casualties on the ship, most being injuries.

"Ah… there he is." Simmons said under his breath as he approached Wulffs unconscious body, air horn in hand.

Placing the air horn right against the helmet, he depressed the button and unleashed a can of unpleasant noise upon Wulffs sound receptors. Despite the Helldiver helmets having noise cancellation in the audio receptors the quick and violent introduction of loud noises could bypass the system and penetrate the barrier.

"Gah! I wasn't sleeping…Dah shit!" Wulff shot up and in his hurry smashed his helmet into the chair above him.

"Get up and start analyzing the crew present. We need this ship back up and running." Simmons' serious tone snapped Wulff into action as he put the pieces together and recalled the event prior to the current situation.

Within the next 10 minutes the bridge was pretty much back up to operational status, with the rest of the ship's stations and departments being checked on and restored. the entirety of Hunter Squad was stationed around the map as a medical officer entered the bridge and stood before Simmons.

"Medical Officer Hewitt, Reporting!" The medical officer saluted as he clicked his heels.

Simmons slowly turned to him and let out a small sigh before returning the salute and motioning for him to return to an at-ease state.

"What is it you need Hewitt?" Simmons questioned as Hewitt took out his PDA and cleared his throat.

"Section 4, Article 1 of Super Earth Navy practices dictates that in the event of a disaster or emergency in which the Admiral of the ship is rendered unfit to serve, or MIA, the highest ranking Helldiver will take command of the ship and her crew." Hewitt finished as he tucked the PDA away and saluted once again.

"Wait? What the hell happened to the Admiral?!" Simmons exclaimed his question a bit forcefully as Hewitt jumped slightly.

"The Admiral is nowhere to be found… we assume he is MIA therefore you are now acting Admiral until we either find him or return to Super Earth." Hewitt explained as Simmons rested his head in his hands.

After a minute his stood up straight and turned to the communications officer.

"What do we have on coms?" Simmons questioned as the communication officer spun around in his chair and saluted.

"Nothing sir, no Illuminate, no Cyborg, and not a single Super Earth broadcast. We are trying as best we can to boost the signal in any way possible and have been sending out a constant SOS since our position has been restored." He finished his report as Simmons nodded and turned to the next post.

"Medical, what's your status?" Simmons questioned as she stood and saluted.

"Medical bay is almost full, but with only minor injuries. Morgue has a dozen or so confirmed casualties. Other than that medical is in top working order." She finished as Simmons again nodded.

"Armory?" Simmons questioned again as the weapons officer stood and saluted.

"Weapons are all stowed and safely secured however we have crews checking on ordnance survival as we speak. Vehicles and calldown are a bit shaken up but it's nothing that the mechanics can't fix. Support weapons and ground attack aircraft are largely unharmed but we have repairs and diagnostics being run at the moment. We hope to be in full working order within the hour." He finished his report and returned to his seat as the navigation and engineering officer stood.

"Sir, you aren't going to believe this…" That statement greatly worried Simmons as he quickly walked over to the navigation/engineering station.

"First off… do you want the good news first, or the bad news?" She cringed as Simmons just sighed.

"Just tell me in the order you found it." Simmons ordered as she nodded and quickly typed away at the console.

A diagram of the ship soon appeared on the main display with the main engine back glowing red. The main reactor following in a light shade of orange. From just the colors alone Simmons bit back a curse as she spoke.

"Engines and slipspace drive are toast… that's the only way I can say it. You wanna move faster than a drunken snail, well I'm afraid to say that's too bad. That's the best news… what comes next is the reactor's situation." Simmons gulped as she took a deep breath. "It's pretty fucked, for a lack of better words. Leaks in cells 4, 7, and 10 render the output at only 20% of what she can do. Now for the worst news… this should also answer communication issue. I have no fucking clue where we are. To be honest, this is some ass-backwards sol-system. I mean, looking at the planet out the window will tell you right away that we aren't above Augustus VIII." She finished as Hunter Squad, along with the rest of the crew looked towards the window.

A collective gasp of awe could be heard from those present as they stared at the blue and green marble. However it was nowhere near as captivating as Super Earth but it still gave it a run for its money. Then Wulff noticed something, cities. Small cities on each of the four land masses.

"Run a scan for any life and civilization on that planet." Wulff barked out as the communications officer made to question his order.

"Just listen to my Squad… alright?" Simmons order was more of a question as the crew nodded.

As the communication officer started the scan a scientist entered the brig. A look of worry on his face as he looked from person to person before stopping on Simmons.

"Admiral, the crystal did this! The slipspace drive destabilized it and caused it to unleash some sort of energy blast. The R&D department is still working on what else the crystal did… we will get back to you on our research as it advance sand yield results." The scientist finished as Simmons nodded, waving him off as he left the bridge back to the science department.

"Sir, look at this!" Came the shocked yell of one of the communications technicians.

Simmons hurried over and found himself looking at a SOS beacon that was deployed on the planet's surface not a minute ago.

"There is also a message attached the encryption is different so it may take… bingo!…Playing message." He exclaimed as he linked the message up to the speakers.

"Is anyone out there! This is Staff Sergeant Williams with the Waterson Militia, we have encountered Grimm near our town and have suffered heavy losses… Oh fuck… Open fire! Open Fire dammit! focus on that Deathstalker Jacobs… oh my god, Ursa Majors!" The audio cut out as several growls and screams were heard over the gunfire.

It was a dead silence in the bridge as Simmons looked to his squad and saw them looking at the Hellpods, a glint of excitement on their visors as Simmons nodded. Wulff, Nikolai and Hastings entered their pods, hissing shut behind them.

"Lock onto that beacon and launch as soon as we give the greenlight. Weapons free on this mission, we have a new enemy." Simmons barked out as he hopped into his own pod, the ship rotating as the Hellpods aimed towards the targeted zone.

The AI's voice, still somewhat frazzled, began to count down time until launch. All four members of Hunter Squad were strapped in and ready to go as the communications opened up.

"This is SOD, standard comms check. Can you hear us Hunter Actual?"

"Loud and clear, SOD." Simmons replied as he checked his harness and seat for the third time as the countdown timer hit zero.

The familiar jolt reached the other three as their pods were launched towards the planet's surface. As they entered atmosphere Simmons opened up comms with the Squad.

"Alright men, we don't know what we're up against and we don't have a single clue as to what's friend or what's foe. Also being that this planet is unmapped we will need to rely heavily on SOD for locational updates." Simmons stated as they broke through the clouds and a thick forest greeted them.

Only 10 seconds after breaking through the clouds their pods impacted the ground with deafening boom as they felled several of the trees Hellpods were not designed to be discreet. The ground near the pods smoked from the intense heat as they hissed open and Hunter Squad disembarked.

Once all three of them were out of their pods they grouped up in the small make-shift clearing their pods had made in the forest. The other three members of Hunter Squad scanned their surroundings briefly before facing Simmons, who had pulled out his PDA. Another impact was heard as Hastings had called down Celia as soon as his pod had opened, a grunt of satisfaction was heard as Hastings and Celia were reunited.

"Alright, SOD says that there's a settlement half a click to our west. They are detecting multiple life-forms in the AO so keep an eye out for civilians." Simmons put away his PDA as Hunter Squad moved in a crouched stance towards the town.

"I don't like the look of this situation, I'm going to scout ahead Major." Nikolai said as he took point and slowly disappeared into the thick woods ahead of the Squad.

Only a few seconds passed when there were two yells. One seemed surprised and the other seemed angry and quite forcefull. Simmons looked to the other two before standing up and rushing forwards to see what had happened. As they approached to where Nikolai had said he was doing the yelling was becoming clear, and quite worrying.

"Lower the gun!" The voice belonged to someone not of the four in the Squad.

"Not before you lower yours!" Nikolai fought back with his words as the rest of his Squad burst through the brush and looked at something from a battlefield.

Some sort of triage center was laid out before them. Nikolai looked back to Simmons and the other two before returning to look at the young man that had asked Nikolai to lower his rifle.

"Map, lower your rifle." Simmons ordered as Nikolai nodded and lowered his weapon before Simmons turned to the young man and spoke, "You with the Militia?" He asked as he stood in front of the young man.

"Yes I am, Staff Sergeant Williams. You with the Vale Military?" They finally had a face to the name and voice from the distress beacon but it was the last part that caught them off guard.

"No, we aren't part of the… Vale Military…. What is, actually nevermind. What did you need help with?" Simmons was going to leave the information gathering until after the mission was completed.

Williams nodded before motioning for them to follow. Nikolai, Hastings, and Wulff looked to Simmons who nodded before falling in behind the young man who was supposedly a member of the militia. They reached the edge of the woods and looked out across a large expanse of flat ground to a tall wooden wall that was currently torn open in several places. There was also thick columns of smoke rising from the other side of the wall. William pointed towards the wall before speaking.

"As you can see, Waterson is under siege from the Grimm. Now the Grimm… oh shit, get down." They all dropped into the bushes as they clutched their weapons tightly and watched as several pitch-black bipedal wolves walked into their view.

"Don't alert them, we need help in clearing out the town…" Williams soon found himself cut-off.

"How many hostiles?" Simmons asked in a monotone as he interrupted Williams.

"But I didn't…" Williams was a bit surprised at the information.

"How many enemies?" Simmons repeated as he looked to his Squadmates and then back to Williams, slightly more irritated.

"There were around 2 to 3 dozen Beowolves, at least 4 Deathstalkers, and two Ursa Majors…" Williams looked slightly unnerved as he looked to the emotionless masks of the four sitting in the bush with him.

"That's all? Doc, avoid using the TOX in town for fear of civilian casualties." Simmons took a breath before looking at Wullf and nodding.

"Roger that." Wulff replied as he put the TOX on his back and pulled out his Paragon and pulled back the charging handle.

"Map, weapons free on your LMG and see if support from SOD is necessary." Simmons smacked Nikolai on his helmet after speaking just to see if he was still awake.

"Affirmative, just itching to get some action." He gave off a small chuckle after that before pulling out his Stalwart LMG.

"Hastings... just don't blow anything up too bad." Simmons sighed as Hastings just grunted.

"Arlight Hunter, they're not Bugs but they'll do just fine." Simmons smirked under his helmet as they all pulled out their weapons and made to stand as Williams looked on in slight surprise.

Simmons and his squad stood up and walked through the brush as Williams called out from behind them. A look of slight panic and worry was plastered on his face as his rifle hung by his side.

"You can't take on that many Grimm on your own, use silencers or something?!" Williams was stopped by the sounds of laughter coming from the group of four.

"Silencers? Freedom can't be silenced… Hunters attack!" Simmons bellowed as they all charged their weapons and took aim at the nearest bipedal wolves.

There were six of them to their direct front, about a quarter of the estimated force. Nikolai was the first to fire as he leveled his LMG and depressed the trigger. Brass spewed from the ejection port as the large caliber rounds impacted the creatures. Their white plating giving way easily to the supersonic armor-piercing rounds. Three of them fell as Hastings brought up his sniper rifle and fired twice, the two bullets almost tearing the heads off of the beasts. Wulff had pulled out his Pyro sidearm and waited for the beast to enter its range. As the creature entered the effective range he pulled the trigger covering the beast in a sticky mess of napalm and other incendiary chemicals. Simmons smirked as the last one charged right at him and was met with a chest-full of buckshot, tearing a good section of its torso off. It let out a howl as it collapsed.

Four seconds in and 6 of the beasts were already dead. Hunter Squad looked around at the lack of responding forces and they let out a few sighs and shrugged before heading towards the large hole in the wall. Williams was standing in the brush, his mouth agape just a tiny bit as he watched the four of them walk through the wall.

Upon stepping over the destroyed lumber that was once a wall hunter team viewed what remained of the east section of the town. Some building were ruble while others were smoldering heaps of wood and brick.

"Man… did the things that we just wiped out do all this?" Nikolai stated, a hint of confusion prevalent in his voice as they walked past destroyed storefronts and cars.

"Apparently they did, keep your eyes peeled… from what I gather the things we just faced were called Beowolves. We still haven't seen these Deathstalker or Ursa things." Simmons stated when from around the corner of the building they heard a familiar clicking.

They slowly approached the intersection but jumped back when a large scorpion rounded the corner and stood there looking right at them.

"That's a big Goddamned scorpion!" Simmons exclaimed as they all hurried away from the 12 foot tall scorpion now bearing down on them.

The scorpion clicked its claws as it started chasing them. Simmons dove into a nearby destroyed bakery and took cover behind the display case before peeking around the corner and observing the creature. Hearing another crash he turned around and saw Hastings right behind him, also taking refuge.

"Hastings, where's Map and Doc?" Simmons was answered by Hastings pointing across the street.

Simmons saw that Hastings indicated towards to a small book store where Wulff and Nikolai could be seen, just barely, hidden behind a fallen bookshelf. Simmons pressed his finger to his comms link before speaking.

"Doc, Map, don't move… Hastings is going to….." Simmons was interrupted by a loud swoosh and the noise of breaking glass as the windows that were still intact shattered from the violent change in pressure.

The Deathstalker, as Simmons had come to figure out from process of elimination, took the round badly. To Hastings' delight the massive tail was separated from its body and the massive scorpion started flailing about. As the creature was in it's pained state Nikolai and Wulff took the opportunity to sprint over to the bakery where Hastings and Simmons were located.

"Well, it looks like it's still moving gentlemen… Open Fire!" Simmons yelled as he depressed the trigger on his shotgun.

The other members opened fire as well. The rounds smashed into the white plating making satisfying splintering sound like that of a shattering knee cap. As the bony plates gave way to the softer inner flesh of the Deathstalker. The beast couldn't turn around as it was forced down by the merciless impacts of the high powered sniper rifle that Hastings carried. Some of his shots tearing off the legs, severing them at the joints with pinpoint accuracy.

"Hold your fire!" Simmons yelled and Hunter Squad stopped their relentless shower of lead.

The last of the bullet casings hit the floor, ringing through the deserted streets as the creature drew its last breath The next noise was that of a quiet wind as the beast started evaporating into a fine black mist. Followed by the sound of magazines hitting the floor as the four of them reloaded was also heard.

"Wait…" Simmons said hesitating.

"Didn't they say there were-" Wulff was cut off as the back wall of the bakery shattered and another giant scorpion burst through.

They couldn't find their words as Wulff was immediately impaled through his shoulder and was hoisted up through the ceiling into the air before being flung into the front of the library across the street. The other three members of Hunter Squad jumped through the destroyed storefront and into the street as the scorpion followed them closely.

"Damn, Docs got some bad luck… But he isn't dead yet." Simmons joked slightly as a beacon flew from the building and into the street.

After a few seconds of the other three members baiting the scorpion a Hellpod flew from the sky and smashed into the street tearing up the asphalt and shattering the sidewalk. Pieces of the street and sidewalk were falling as the pod opened and Angel flew from it. Angel looked around before heading into the bookstore. Upon finding the severely injured Wulff, started its procedure. Within a few seconds Wulff was up and ready to fight, albeit with a slight limp due to a misaligned knee.

"That's the second time today I've been impaled!" He exclaimed as he jumped through the storefront and fired at the scorpion with his rifle.

The neurotoxin laced rounds finding gaps in the carapace as the scorpion slowly started twitching and moving in a more sluggish and dazed manner. After seeing the change in movement the other three members turned and started firing at the scorpion. After a minute of running and firing the scorpion seized up and fell over, proceeding to turn to mist signalling its death.

"Well then…. I guess we went a little overboard with the first one" said Simmons with a sigh.

The others just shrugged and continued down the cluttered each corner for fear of another large creature popping up from out of nowhere. They had travelled a block from their fight with the Deathstalker when they heard a few muffled and frightened voices coming from a nearby store.

"Doc, check it out while we cover you." Simmons ordered as Wulff nodded and headed off towards a closed door where the noises were originating from.

Wulff pressed his helmet to the door and through the audio receptors found the source of the noise to be five human life-forms. Wulff stepped back from the door before pulling his leg back and delivering a kick straight to the frame. A small section of the door gave way, his boot shoving through the door. His action was met with a few surprised gasps and cries from the people on the other side. Wulff stuck his head through the hole in the door and looked around, his helmet flashlights on as he surveyed the group in the room.

"Can one of you unlock the door?" Wulff said, his voice a droning monotone.

Slowly one of the younger men in the group timidly stepped forward and opened the door slowly as Wulff pulled his head back to the other side of the frame. As the door swung open Wulff motioned to Simmons who looked over his shoulder and nodded to Wulff.

"Alright Hunter, let's move… it looks like we got an escort mission on our hands." Simmons' voice portrayed a small amount of irritation.

The members of Hunter Squad entered the small room and looked around at the group of 5 people. 2 of them older adults in their 50's and the other 3 being in their late 20's or early 30's. Simmons looked around once more before turning to the one who looked the oldest.

"Is there a safe-zone around here? We need to get you hell outta dodge." Simmons asked as Hastings and Wulff watched the door for any more creatures.

"Well, leaving town would be too risky… there is a designated evacuation point at the police department a couple of blocks up." The older man said as Simmons nodded.

"Alright, if we move now we should be there in no-time" Simmons stated as he moved to the doorframe and looked back at the civilians.

"You're Hunters right? What kingdom are you with?" One of the younger ones asked.

The members of Hunter Squad looked at him with their blank masks. Nikolai spoke up to break the thick air of confusion.

"Beats me what we're supposed to be called… just follow the Major here, move in a calm and orderly fashion, keeping your hands and feet in line and stay low. Please enjoy the escort." Nikolai finished as he flicked the safety off on his light machinegun.

The 9 of them exited the building and went into the street where they were greeted with smoke and debris. Simmons nodded as Hastings and Wulff flanked the civilians, Nikolai taking the rear as they moved calmly down the street.

"Look-alive gentlemen, the intel said there are still over a dozen of those Beowolves and at least 4 Ursa'." Simmons stated as they continued at a steady pace.

The first sign of danger was a large truck that hurtled towards them at breakneck speeds. The members of Hunter Squad pushed down the civilians before diving themselves. The truck passing overhead by mere inches before smashing into a nearby building. As the dust settled the four Helldivers stood up and faced the aggressor.

"They look mad…" Nikolai stated in a monotone as he stared at the four bear-like creatures that stood at the end of the street staring them down.

"Doc, Map, you distract them while Hastings and I man the recoilless rifle." Simmons ordered as Wulff and Nikolai nodded towards Simmons before bolting off towards the Ursa.

Simmons looked to Hastings who had unslung the munitions pouch from his back. Tossing the pouch to Simmons he unslung the recoilless rifle and crouched down. Simmons approached his rear as he slung the pouch onto his back and pulled a round from the satchel. Taking a kneeling position off center to Hastings rear Simmons readied the round in his hand, ready to ram it home.

The plan may be standard to the members of Hunter Squad, but to the civilians that looked on it appeared to be something only those with a deathwish would undertake.

"What are you doing!? They'll die!" Yelled the older of the 5 civilians.

Simmons snapped his head around and stared the man in the eyes before speaking.

"Though this looks like suicide it isn't. We have perfected this tactic." Simmons stated calmly as he held the round up again and watched as Nikolai and Wulff rapidly approached the 4 Ursa.

Wulff and Nikolai had been the victims of this strategy many times, many of them resulting in death. As planned, or not, two of the four went after Nikolai and the other two went after Wulff.

"Fire!" Simmons yelled as Hastings took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The round burst from the barrel and smashed into the side of the first Ursa following Nikolai. The Ursa was taken off of its feet by the force of the shell impacting its torso and then reduced to a sloppy mess by the secondary warhead in the shell set to detonate after penetration.

One down and three to go. Simmons slammed the round into Hastings launcher as he took aim at the next target. Hastings snapped to the Ursa closest to Wulff as one of Nikolais has already been dispatched.

"Come on, shoot that god damned thing already!" Wulff yelled as the Ursa was rapidly gaining on him.

Despite Helldivers going through the most gruelling and intense training the military has to offer running short of breath is still a constant threat. It was most definitely showing as the Ursa was preparing to lunge at Wulff any second.

"Doc, Hit the dirt!" Simmons ordered as Wulff, without a second thought, dove to his left and dodged the Ursas swing by mere millimeters.

However, the Ursa was met with a loud thump as a several pound armor piercing high explosive shell entered its head and exited the other side, detonation shortly after. That was two Ursas down and two to go. Simmons looked to Nikolai and saw his Ursa to be a "safe" distance away and got an idea.

"Map, shoot at it and see what happens." Was Simmons order as Nikolai just turned his head towards Simmons and spread his arms out in a 'What the hell!' kind of gesture.

"Just fucking do it…" Simmons deadpan voice confirmed Nikolais 'do-it-or-you're-dead' thought as he planted his feet and whirled around, his Stalwart LMG brought to bear on the Ursa.

Letting out a yell he depressed the trigger as the brass casing flew from the ejector port and onto the pavement. The Ursa, on the other hand, was showing signs of damage and wear. It stumbled and started slowing down as the bullets poured into its flesh. The Ursa looked about finished but just as it was about to fall a clicking rang through the street as Nikolai's eyes went wide.

"Fuck..." Was all that escaped his mouth as a rapid pounding quickly approached Nikolai.

Looking to his left from where Wulff had been, a practically untouched Ursa smashed into Nikolais side, sending him flying through the air and into a nearby wrecked car. The car rocked back and forth as the Ursa turned its attention towards Simmons and Hastings before a thump cut the tension. The beast collapsed in a heap next to the severely injured one who had just succumbed to its wounds not a second ago.

"Map? Aw hell, Doc… oh jesus Doc what the hell happened to you?" Came Simmons annoyed voice as he approached the spot where Wulff lay.

Flipping Wulff over he stared, with a blank face, at the large piece of rebar sticking out of his helmet. He told him to dive, sure, but he didn't say dive into the giant piece of rebar sticking out of the ground. The puddle of blood surrounding his torso didn't make things any better for the civilians who had gotten up and were looking on in horror at the body of Wulff lying in his own blood.

"Oh my god! There has to be something we can do? Maybe the doctors in Vale?!" The man was shocked to see the two soldiers walk past their comrade lodged in the car without even shedding a tear.

"What kind of monster ignores their dead friends lying in their own blood?!" His yelling was short lived as Simmons pulled out a blue ball and tossed it lightly down the street.

The civilians looked on in a mix of awe and confusion as a blue pillar of light shot into the sky. They were further confused, more so frightened, by the fact that the bodies of the Hunters were dissolving into thin air, just like a Grimm. The man stood but was pushed down by Simmons who just looked up as two flaming orange balls hurtled through the clouds and smashed into the pavement, smashing the street completely. Dust and smoke filled the street and from the dust came a hissing sound. A pair of boots could also be heard along with the charging handles of two guns.

"What the hell, who put that rebar there?" Wulff said nonchalantly as he cracked his neck and went over to the bloody pavement where his backpack lay.

"Well, at least you got a painless death!" Nikolai exclaimed, "I got smashed into a fucking car at the speed of sound!" He finished with a sigh as he looked over to the dented car stained with blood.

"But… t-they were… d-dead!" The old man yelled as he looked at the two dead, now living, Hunters standing before him.

"I'd love to answer your questions, but we need to get to that safe zone, it's just down the street if what you say is true." Simmons stated as he motioned for them to follow.

The bewildered and speechless civilians looked back and forth several times before a cough from Simmons snapped them all back to reality. They shook their heads and followed the four men of Hunter Squad down the street to the police station. As they approached the police station a group of men emerged from the building and started heading towards them. The insignia from the police building was imprinted on their clothing. They motioned to the civilians who quickly followed two of the five men back to the station while three stayed and looked at Hunter Squad.

"Thank you for saving them. You did the job we couldn't… however there are plenty of Grimm around here and it's not safe. Come inside with us." The cop motioned to the station as Simmons put up his hand.

"It's fine, we need to clean up the Beowolves. We took out the Deathstalkers and Ursas just fine." With those words the police officers looked between the four men standing before.

"You four took out the two deathstalkers and four Ursas. Congratulations. What Hunter rank are you? Come on, walk with us." The cop said as they turned, Hunter Squad following in tow.

"Hunter Rank? Oh yeah…." Simmons paused as he leaned over to Wulff and nikolai.

"Number rank or Letter rank?" Simmons questioned as the two looked to each other before speaking.

"You realize how much bullshit we are going to start posing as, what seems to be, an official power here... right?" Nikolai stated as Wulff nodded and they both looked at Simmons.

"A concerned third party?" Wulff suggested with a smile you could almost hear.

Simmons nodded as he smiled and turned back to the police officers before clearing his throat.

"You can call us a concerned third party." Simmons stated, a smirk plastered on his face.

Looking at the police officers they were met with blank stares. The first one to break the silence was one of the younger police officers.

"Third party, are any of you hurt? Is that where you got that tech?" The officer questioned, pointing to Hastings recoilless rifle.

Hastings gave a nervous glance down to his weapon before hastily slinging it onto his back and retreating behind Simmons and the rest of Hunter Squad emitting a low threatened growl.

"Ignore him," Simmons said looking at the police as he continued, "Where we got our weapons and our current condition is of no concern to you at the current time." The officers looked quite taken-aback by the snappy and quite rude remark from Simmons.

"Map, get SOD on the horn. We need extraction before Hastings starts breaking things…. and people." Nikolai nodded before pulling out his radio and contacting SOD.

Nikolai turned away as the connection was established and a solid tone played, signalling a good connection with SOD. However, the first thing he heard was a far from comforting conversation.

"O'neal, get your ass to hanger 2… no I'm not a fucking magician and can't pull tilt-rotor parts outta my ass for you. Oh god, THEY are on the horn… yes just get it fixed within the hour or you'll find a damned wrench up your ass… Heyyyyyy Nikolai..." Chief Engineering Officer Kane reserved that tone for only special moments, moments when she knew nothing good would result from anything she did or said.

"Kane… what's wrong?" Nikolai asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he glanced over to Simmons who was casting a 'what's happening' look at him.

Kane took a deep breath before letting out an even longer sigh.

"Well… you know how the ship shook harder than a goddamned 7.0 earthquake an hour ago? Well the shuttle kinda got flipped ass backwards and fucked its tilt-rotor assembly in the ass so your gonna be stuck down there for a little bit longer…. if the fucking mechanic doesn't get outta the bridge and down to the launch bay!" That last outburst was followed by the clattering of a few tools and a muffled scream as Kane took another breath.

"Well…. he's on the way now and should have your ship all up and at em' in…." Kane stopped talking and Nikolai removed the Radio from his head, tilting his head as he looked at it.

"Hello, Kane? How long until the shuttle is ready?" Nikolai waited a few seconds until the sound of boots behind him grabbed his attention.

"What the hell is going on?!" Simmons angrily whispered as him as the rest of Hunter Squad made their way over, except for Hastings who had his eyes firmly planted on the offending officers kneecaps.

"I don't know! Kane said that the shuttle is fucked and that the engineers were going to fix it as soon as possible." Nikolai looked to Wulff and Simmons, the latter of which had smacked a glove on his faceplate and turned around.

He calmly walked over to a nearby wrecked car and nonchalantly leaned on the frame. Using one of his elbows to prop himself up and crossed his legs before looking at the police officers.

"Soooo…. how you guys doing, great? Thats wonderful! It looks like we're going to be stuck here for a little bit of time and need a place to stay." Though the mask prevented them from seeing his face, Simmons had the worst poker face ever plastered on his features as the police looked at one another.

One the older officer came up to the car and took up a position similar to Simmons before looking him in his visor. Simmons knew karma was going to be one stone-cold bitch as a smirk crept onto the officer's face.

"You see, we have places to stay and you did save a group of our citizens but we are going to have to ask you to leave town. Now it's not safe out there but who you are and what happens to you, that's none of **our** concern." The officer tipped his hat as he pushed off of the car and walked back over to the other officers before they all turned and started back towards the police station.

As they walked away, past a growling Hastings, they left a surprisingly calm Simmons standing at the wreck looking down at the cracked pavement and then back up to the officers as they entered the station.

"Karma's a fucking bitch… and i deserved every bit of that." He stated as he shrugged and looked back at his past actions.

Pushing himself off of the car he looked at the rest of Hunter Squad who were up and ready to move as Hastings motioned for them to follow.

"They asked us to leave and that's just what we're going to do." Simmons said in a monotone as they moved back towards the hole in the wall they had entered through before.

As they approached the hole in the wall Nikolai and Wulff shared a suspicious glance. Nikolai moved closer to Wulff before Speaking.

"Hey, Doc?" Nikolai asked as they approached the hole in the wall.

"What?" Wulff replied as he looked back at the town.

"Isn't it strange for the Major to give up so easily?" Wulff paused for a second at Nikolai's observation.

"You're right Map, you're right… but I get a feeling we aren't going to be leaving." Wulff said as they reached the hole and passed through.

"It'll be dark soon, start entrenchment." Simmons ordered to Hunter Squad as they exited the walled city, the sun rapidly setting behind the horizon.

A smirk grew on the faces of Wulff and Nikolai as they glanced at each other. They were out of the city and, as far as they were concerned, that's what the police wanted. With that, Simmons dug his entrenching tool into the soil… 3 feet from the cities wall.

 **1 Hour Later**

4 Foxholes and a case of orbitally deployed rations later Hunter Squad was entrenched and resting easy with their meals cooking on a fireless heater. The smell of cooking food wafted through the air as the lower part of their helmets lifted and the picked up their meals.

"Mmm, pork rations again…" Simmons said, his voice dripping with defeat as he had asked for the steak ration.

"Well, it's food. Might as well eat it… I mean I'll eat…" Nikolai was cut off as Simmons drew his pistol and took aim at him.

"Map, not a chance." Simmons said in a deadpan as he holstered his pistol and shoveled the pork into his mouth.

Wulff chuckled in the background as he just shook his head and continued to eat his ration of schnitzel and spatzle before taking a swig of beer. Nikolai grumbled under his breath as he turned back to his dish, a knish and a sbiten ration spiked with vodka. Hastings returned to facing away from the group and continued munching on his ration of dry crackers and spread of an unknown type. Simmons had just finished off half of his pork and mashed potatoes ration before taking a sip from his cola bottle.

"Don't worry guys, they'll feel bad and let us back in soon enough." Simmons stated with another swig of his cola.

As if on cue Wulff shot up in his foxhole and looked around before turning to the other members of Hunter Squad..

"You guys hear that?" Wulff said, his visor sliding down to cover his mouth again.

The rest of Hunter Squad quickly scarfed down what little remained of their meals before picking up their weapons and listening. What they heard was a few pairs of boots.

"It's coming from the top of the wall." Nikolai noted as they all got out of their foxholes and looked to the top of the wall.

They all heard the steps stop and listened for anything else. What they heard next were two voices from the top of the wall.

"Look at this mess! It's going to take us a week to get this fixed…" The man let out a heavy sigh as he shifted a little.

"Well, at least we have walls around us, unlike those poor guys you kicked out." There was a hint of anger and regret in the other man's voice.

"Ok, well… I regret it now, I hope we can find them. The whole town is throwing a hissy fit about it." It was him, the guy that kicked them out.

However, Simmons wasn't mad at him, since they technically didn't leave the town and were right under them. Due to the sun setting some time ago it was almost pitch-black. With that, Simmons looked up at the broken moon above them. Sure, they had seen many thousands of broken and destroyed moon float above them but this one, this one looked different.

"Hey guys, does the moon look strange to you?" Simmons whispered to the others as they all started looking at the moon.

"It's broken?" Nikolai guessed.

"Someone fucked up?" Wulff guessed and was met with chuckles around the board as they looked to Simmons.

"No, it just doesn't feel right… i don't know, I just have a strange feeling when I look at it, that's all." Simmons finished as they returned to the duo on the wall.

"I mean what if they die out there, what if I'm to blame for their deaths?" Simmons almost burst out laughing but contained it before Wulff snapped his fingers and motioned to the wall.

"Well, I mean it's rude to assume we were going to die out there!" Wulff yelled up to the top of the wall, causing quite a comedic reaction.

A few muffled curses could be heard as Hunter Squad turned on their flashlights and the lights in their foxholes. Stomping feet and the appearance of one man looking down from the wall informed them that it was infact the officer from earlier, and that he had felt a little bad as per Simmons prediction.

"Awww, do you really want us back… like really really?!" Simmons said in a mocking manner as the other officer spoke.

"Oh for fucks sake, they never left?! Are you kidding me!" The officer yelled out in shock and disbelief as he looked over the side and was met with an entrenched Hunter Squad mere feet from the cities wall.

"Well, technically we did leave since…" Nikolai started in a mocking manner but was quickly cut off by the officer.

"Just shut up, holy shit… now I don't feel bad about the Sarge kicking you out." The officer audibly facepalmed as Simmons spoke back.

"Does this mean we can come back inside the city?" The greatest shit-eating grin was working its way onto Simmons face as the officer sighed.

"Alright, just don't… I just can't deal with these guys tonight! Fuck it! They can come in, making me feel bad and shit, just to ignore me and never leave in the first place. I mean what the..." The first officer yelled and ranted and he walked away from them.

As his rant faded away the other just gave them a half hearted 'come on in' gesture. Simmons turned to the rest of Hunter Squad as he gave them a thumbs up and led his Squad back into the city they were previously exiled from.

"Well, let's go meet the locals under more…. relaxed… circumstances." Simmons stated as he and Hunter Squad passed through the hole 3 feet from them and back into the city.

 **A/N: So, Lumox and I are looking to have a 2 week release window with the exception of this chapter.  
Also if you liked this chapter feel free to Review, Like and give it some feed back!**


	3. Social Situations

**A/N: Hey guys and welcome back to Chapter 3 of Helldivers!  
19 followers?! That's amazing! Lumox and I want to thank you all for your continued support of the story etc. etc.  
Also a reader by the name of Edboy4926 asked: ****Just to clarify, how many people from HELLDIVERS are currently in the ship?  
To answer I stated that: ****Since the game only implies a maximum of four for coop and those being the only 4 on the ship, lumox and I are going to stick with just the four from Hunter for now.**

 **That's all for the authors not, and also that I do not Own RWBY or HELLDIVERS, they each belong to their own respective companies; Arrowhead and Rooster teeth**

The awkward silence that followed the group of six as they made their way back to the police station was almost deafening. Wulff cleared his throat as he leaned over to Nikolai.

"So… what are we going to do once we get there?" Wulff asked as Nikolai just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Not sure… Hey!" Nikolai directed towards the police, "What are we going to do at the station?" Nikolai yelled out at the two officers in the front.

The officers looked at each other before turning around and facing Hunter Squad, they looked unsure and slightly baffled.

"There's a bar in the basement of the police station that also doubles as the safe-zone. That's where we planned to bring ya, well before all this." The cop waved around with his hands but Hunter Squad payed no attention since they were focusing on something else.

Hunter Squad cast slightly worried glances towards Nikolai as they continued walking down the street towards the Police Station. However, one thing was going through all of their minds… 'Nikolai can't get to that bar'.

One minute of walking, and a minute of the police officers trying to keep up an awkward one-sided conversation, later they arrived at the Police Station's front doors. The whole of Hunter Squad, minus Nikolai, observed the 2-foot-thick blast-doors situated at the front of the station. It looked like a military outpost if anything and appeared ready to stand up against an impending invasion.

"You guys head in, we'll be right behind you. We just gotta file a report." The officer grumbled as he turned to leave.

"What about him? He needs to come inside too." The other officer said, motioning to Hastings who had planted himself just outside the door.

The officer sighed and turned towards Hastings to grab him and get him inside when a hand firmly grasped him on his shoulder from behind.

"Leave him, Hastings… doesn't care about the diplomatic repercussions of shooting a police officer in the knee for touching him." Simmons stated in a deadpan as the officer paled slightly and pulled back before closing the door.

An awkward silence cut through the air before Nikolai spoke.

"So… where's the bar?" Wulff facepalmed and Simmons sighed as the officer pointed to a set of stairs at the back of the room heading down.

Nikolai nodded before sprinting over to the stairs, almost knocking down a few people, and sliding down the railing. A loud whooping coming from his mask as he landed at the bottom. Simmons and Wulff returned to looking at the two officers, their mouths slightly ajar and unable to form words.

"Is a there a chief of police?" Simmons broke the silence as the officer snapped back to reality and nodded.

One of them motioned to follow as Simmons and Wulff fell in line. Upon actually getting a better look at the station it actually felt like a nice place, contrary to the fortress appearance on the outside. Pure white and blue tiles lined the hallways and holographic displays showed various statistics. One of which caught Wulffs eye.

"Days since last Grimm invasion... 0" Wulff mumbled as the officer looked back at him over his shoulder.

"Yeah, our best was 5 days… and I wonder why this town is still standing some days." The officer stated bluntly as they continued down the hall.

After another minute and up a flight of stairs, they reached a door that hand "Chief Of Police" written on it. The officer knocked and was met with a grunt as he opened the door and lead Simmons and Wulff inside. The office was neat and well organized with some wooden decorations, but nothing too posh. The only thing that stood out was the wooden desk in the metal room and the man behind it.

"You two are the ones who saved that group of citizens?" The man behind the desk questioned as he rested his head on his steepled hands.

"Yes, however there are two more of us. One is in the bar as we speak and the other is sitting out front." Simmons stated as Wulff continued observing the room.

"Outside? Why is he… nevermind" The man dismissed it with a wave as he locked eyes with Simmons faceplate.

"Normally I would have guests remove headwear, but after saving a few of my close friends I guess I will allow it." He sat up in his chair, removing his head from his hands.

"I can't thank you enough for saving them, my forces were tied up in multiple areas and you four just show up out of nowhere and… oh where are my manners. The name's Rodriguez, Sylvester Rodriguez." The man stood up and walked around the desk before standing before Simmons and Wulff.

Looking the man over in better light Simmons could see that he was at least in his 60's. The short-cut grey hairs and his tired eyes showed some level of compassion and warmth. He gave them a hearty smile before extending his hand. Simmons took his hand in a firm grip which elicited a smirk from the man before Wulff did the same. His stature was something else, he had to be as-tall, if not shorter than, Nikolai. The addition of the beard furthered the point in the back of Wulffs head that he was, in fact, a dwarf.

"You two have great handshakes, you know that right?" He questioned as Wulff and Simmons looked at each other awkwardly before looking back at the man.

"Holy hell, looking back on that footage it still knocks my socks off just seeing those hits you took!" He pointed to Wulff as the tape played on a handheld device he had pulled out of nowhere.

"How did manage to pull back from those hits?!" This caused Wulff to look and Simmons and Simmons to look at Wulff.

Looking back to Sylvester, Wulff unpacked his 'Angel' and had it fly around the room a bit before coming to a stop next to Wulff. The machine let out a low beep and shook a bit before Wullf gave it a little pat on the top. Sylvester and the other officer looked at the robot with great interest.

"What kind of tech is that? Atlas, Vale, Vacuo… oh what about Mistral?" The chief was rattling of names that didn't make a lick of sense to Wulff or Simmons, all while imitating a hyperactive dwarf.

Thinking on the fly Simmons picked up the bot and flipped it over. Angel didn't take kindly as it started beeping and revving it's fans to make what resembled hissing as Simmons looked back to Sylvester letting, a now slightly angry, Angel go.

"It's Wulffs own invention, as is our weapons and armor. We don't really know much about these places as we've been working in the mountains, somewhat isolated to say the least." Simmons bull-shited like there was no tomorrow as Wulff just nodded and tried to act natural while Angel imitated his nodding.

"I see, I see, so a group of roaming vigilantes? I like it!" Sylvester said as he contemplated the idea and stroked his short beard.

"Also… I don't believe you told me your names." He stated as he walked back over to his desk and sat in his chair.

Simmons and Wulff shared another quick glance as they calculated what to say next. Simmons stepped forward and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Arthur Simmons, leader of our four man team." After stating his name, leaving out his rank, he motioned to Wulff.

"My name is Wulff Ferdinand, I am the medical specialist of the group. I hope that sheds light on what you saw from earlier." Wulff stated with a bow as he looked at the Chief who gave a nod back.

"And the other two?" Sylvester inquired as he tilted his head slightly.

"The one in the bar, probably getting drunk off his ass, is" Simmons took a deep breath before speaking, "Nikolai Vadimovich Shcherbatykh. He is our Navigation and support specialist." Simmons stated as Sylvester just looked at him, still trying to figure out the name.

"So… Nikolai?" Rodriguez asked.

"Yeah… that's good enough. He's not picky." Simmons said, agreeing with his discomfort in the name.

"So, about the other fellow… the one you left outside the compound?" Sylvester asked as he looked from Simmons to Wulff.

"Hastings." Simmons stated as he looked out the window in the back of the room and found the sky to be quite intriguing.

"He's our explosive specialist and marksman extraordinaire." Wulff stated as he kept looking around the room, finding the books on the bookshelves to be increasingly interesting.

Sylvester let out a small chuckle as he looked back and forth between the two men before him. They both appeared to be experienced fighters and knew how to carry themselves. They were no vigilantes, and he knew it. However, he was willing to see how far they carried this charade and where it would take them.

"You two can leave if you want. The bar is open all night and musical suggestions are welcome, my men have no taste in music." He added with another small chuckle as Simmons and Wulff looked at each other.

They shared a few thanks with Sylvester before leaving. The door closed behind them as they made it to the small flight of stairs and headed down the hallway to the reception area. From there they would head down to the Bar and find just what kind of situation Nikolai was in.

"How do you think Nikolai is?" Simmons questioned as they neared the reception area, Wulff giving him a nervous glance.

"I just hope he hasn't injured anyone…" Wulff stated as they paused slightly before picking up their pace and entering a power-walk.

Rounding the corner, the flight of stairs down to the bar and shelter was right in front of them. They shared one final look, hesitating slightly, before heading down the stairs. The mood changed significantly as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The white and blue tiles giving way to red brick and wooden floors.

"Is it just me, or does this place feel more like a club than a police station?" Wulff stated flatly as Simmons walked ahead down the hall.

Music was clearly present. However, it wasn't what they had anticipated.

"EDM, you gotta be fucking with me right now!" Wulff blurted out as the metal door neared them.

Wulff has had a strong distaste for Electronic Dance Music. Having dubbed it "Non-sensical bullshit garbage that pollutes your ears" he has always had strong views on music.

"Just be strong and deal with it Doc." Simmons mumbled as he grabbed the handle and turned.

However, as he turned the handle there was a collective shouting and yelling. Simmons snapped his head over to Wulff before Simmons burst through the door. What greeted them was not what they had expected.

"Round three, Drink!" Someone yelled as the crowd cheered and hollered.

Wulff and Simmons shared a glance, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and headed over to the table. Pushing through the crowd they saw a man seated at a table and next to him was the one and only Nikolai, a glass of alcohol to his partially opened mask and a -dozen glasses in front of him. A second later he smashed his mug down and let out a triumphant yell as the crowd joined in.

"Map, just what the hell are you doing!" Simmons yelled as Nikolai snapped up and saluted.

"Sorry sir, got a little carried away is all." Nikolai said in a straight tone as Simmons and Wulff observed him.

Wullf noticed that the other man was almost falling over from the drinks but Nikolai looked right-as-rain and ready to take on a Behemoth any second.

"To be frank, their alcohol is pretty weak stuff." Wulff stated as he motioned to the dozen empty glasses and bottles behind the counter.

Simmons just facepalmed as he looked at the others who, having lost interest in the group, had moved back to their tables and resumed their conversations.

"Nikolai, we need to get Hastings in the building." Simmons said as Nikolai's mask folded back over the lower-half of his face.

Nikolai nodded as he followed Wulff and Simmons through the door and back down the hallway, away from the bar. Leaving a, quite relieved, bartender to clean up the mess and innumerable empty bottles of his best brew.

"So… where's Hastings?" Nikolai asked as they reached the top of the stairs and made their way over to the thick door leading out into the city.

"Tell the chief we'll be gone for a bit, gonna do some scouting." Simmons told the officer as he nodded and opened the door.

However, as the door slid open a strange sinking feeling entered all three of their minds as the door opened and the lack of Hastings outside registered in their heads. Simmons turned and looked to Wulff and Nikolai then back to the spot where Hastings had been only a half hour ago.

"I swear, I left him right here!" Simmons exclaimed as he looked to Wulff.

"Where the hell could he have gone? He's not one to run off and do his own thing… is he?" Wulff questioned to Simmons and was met with a shrug.

"I don't know, but one things for sure. We gotta find him… fast." Simmons said as the door closed behind them and they stepped onto the semi-destroyed street.

 **A/N: I know that it is signifigantly shorter but I wanted to break chapters into different exploits and actions, not half of two actions and so on. This was 2k wheras the others were at least 7.5k each. Just bear with us.**

 **Also don't forget to leave a like, follow, and review**


	4. Finding Hastings With Haste

**A/N:**

 **Me: Thanks to my slavedriv... i mean editor Lumox I was able to turn out this chapter lickety split!  
Lumox: *Whip cracks* plebeian, what the hell are you doing away from the keyboard!  
Me: I'm sorry sir! I will get back to work right away! I'll just go back to the dunge... i mean office and continue my work.**

 **But in all seriousness Lumox is a driving force!  
don't forget to leave a ****_Review_** **and follow/favorite! Every little bit helps!**

 **Now... here's the story you probably came to read.**

The collective feeling going through the three of their heads was that of some worry but also a feeling of deep regret for leaving Hastings out front of the building. Simmons knew it was not in Hastings's nature to go off on his own adventure without so much as a warning.

"Where the hell do you think he went?" Nikolai stated with a certain level of uncertainty prevalent in his voice.

Nikolai shared a glance with Wulff before looking back to Simmons who at the time appeared to be just as baffled as they were.

"When I tell him to stay he normally stays!" Simmons stated in an exasperated as he threw his arms up in defeat.

On the outside Wulff and Nikolai gave Simmons an understanding nod. However on the inside they had their own thoughts on the situation. Wulff and Nikolai had dealt with this situation many times before, a situation involving a runaway Hastings and a rather clueless Simmons. To both Nikolai and Wulff, it had gotten quite old after the first 14 times it happened.

"Well I mean, just try and imagine if you are Hastings, where would you go?" Nikolai stated after a few seconds of silence.

Both Wulff and Simmons gave Nikolai quizzical looks as they quickly entered a state of deep thought. However, placing yourself in Hastings shoes is not something a sane man can do. Seeing as several minutes had passed since they started their thinking and slight mental imitation of Hastings they had come to the conclusion that none of them could come close to any possible locations.

"Well, where the hell do you expect us to start?!" Wulff exclaimed as he looked to Nikolai and Simmons.

However Simmons ignored Wulff's question as he enabled his visor's thermal sensors and started to scan the ground. Wulff continued to bicker to Nikolai in the background as Simmons searched around for anything that might give him a clue as to Hastings whereabouts.

"Found him… Or at least a clue as to where he has gone." Simmons said pointing down the road, his thermal sensors detecting slight fluctuations in the temperature of the ground.

Nikolai looked to Wulff before Wulff returned to the glance with a slight shrug. As Simmons started to trundle down the road Nikolai and Wulff both shared the same thoughts, thoughts finding purchase in the idea that Simmons, after all this time, found a way to streamline the search for Hastings.

As the trio made their way down the street they continue to scan the semi-destroyed buildings that littered the sides of the road. Although their main concern was on finding Hastings, deep in the back of their minds they subconsciously prayed that they didn't encounter a group of the oh-so-appropriately named Deathstalkers. The three of them shivered slightly before continuing their search.

"How long do you suspect it'll take us to find Hastings?" Nikolai questioned as he peered down a dark alley, a few rats scattering as his flashlight swept over them.

"Hell if I know, it should really take that long unless… aww shit…"Simmons stopped in his tracks is a possible answer to Hastings disappearance appeared In his mind.

"What if he Isn't in the town anymore?" At this statement both Wulff and Nikolai froze, many dozens of mixed emotions flowed through their minds accompanied by their own thoughts.

After a minute of silence Nikolai was the first to find his words.

"While in that case it's gonna be pretty fucking hard to find him out there!" Nikolai exclaimed as he threw his arm towards the broken wall in the distance.

"Continuing along on Map's statement, I feel pretty sorry for any poor sod who finds him in the dark of night. Come to think of it his people skills aren't exactly top-notch." Wulff stated as Simmons let out a long sigh.

Simmons walked over to Nikolai before pulling the radio off his back. Quickly situating himself on the floor with the radio next to him he contacted SOD. After a connection tone quickly flashed in his ear he was greeted by a not so a ecstatic Engineering Officer.

"Kane, I needed to get me on the horn with the boys in communication...It's urgent" Simmons spat out, completely blocking came from greeting him in any way." A grunt from officer Kane signaled her reluctance to transfer communications, however within a minute he was connected to the communications division.

The hasty crinkling of a few MRE bags could be heard through the radio as a muffled voice came through the radio in response to Simmons call.

"Oh… Hey commander, what you need with the communication department?" The voice was muffled and could be heard, without much trouble, chewing on some snacks.

"Fredrickson…"Came Simmons stale reply as Simmons pulled his gloved hand across his helmet, trying to alleviate some irritation in his head.

Chief Communications Officer Fredrickson, the exact emotional opposite of Kane in the engineering department, could be found raiding the canteen every now and then. Despite his hearty appetite he could be found almost all the time in the communications department working as hard as the next man. His all or nothing attitude outweighed his unfathomable appetite.

"Oh hey Major!" Came Fredricksons jovial reply, "You said you had job for us?" Fredrickson questioned immediately, irritating Simmons to no end as he hadn't had a chance to ask his question in the first place.

"Well what we need is for you to locate Hastings… I know, it's no easy task…" Simmons pep talk was quickly cut short as Fredrickson interrupted him.

"Found him…" Came Fredricksons almost instantaneous reply.

"Wait what?!" Simmons responded, a slight amount of shock prevalent in his voice.

"My team located him, apparently he's half a kilometer north of you. It also appears as though he's moving quite rapidly?" The last part left both Fredrickson and Simmons mildly confused.

"Yeah, the scanner shows him moving at no faster than 80 km an hour. Our visual sensors appear to be picking up a strange VTOL that he is in. It's not anywhere near as fast as our dropship, or perhaps it's just holding back. I suggest you three get after Hastings… with some haste…" Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff could almost hear the shit-eating grin that was plastered on Fredrickson's face.

"Okay squad, let's move out and get Hastings back! Also I'm giving you two permission to shoot Fredrickson in the foot when we get back on the ship." They could almost feel the fear coming through the radio at the last part of Simmons statement.

Simmons ended the radio connection before pulling out his map and handing the radio back to Nikolai. Despite the bad joke, the map did in fact show that Hastings was, regrettably, moving with some haste. Although what shocked the three of them next was the complete stop that Hastings, or the drop ship that he was in, made.

"Well, it looks like we have a location of where Hastings is. You know I get quite tired of him blowing me up, but I'm starting to miss that insane bastard." Nikolai stated as he pulled out his 'Stalwart' cocking the charging handle.

"We may have his location, but it's a good three quarters of a kilometer…" Simmons stated as they started heading towards the broken wall.

"Three quarters of a kilometer or not, we've got to get him back. Anyways what the hell are you complaining for?! We've done ops that spanned half of a god damned planet!" Wulff exclaimed as they all entered a jog.

They had just passed through the broken wall and entered the large grassland that stretched from the walls to the surrounding forest. Stopping and looking around for a minute they soon realized that it was the dead of night and the flashlights on their guns could only go so far as to provide proper visuals.

"Activate your thermals, we're not letting dark get in our way." Simmons stated as he turned on the thermals in his helmet's visor.

After they all activated their thermals Simmons pulled out his map and soon found that Hastings beacon had stopped the transmitting. Showing the results to the rest of Hunter squad they quickly entered a Sprint, determined on reaching Hastings last known position.

A Helldiver, one in top physical condition, could easily run a two-minute kilometer. However, under the current circumstances two minutes just wasn't going to cut it.

"Anyone got an MC–109?" Simmons questioned between breaths as, to his eternal dissatisfaction, both Nikolai and Wulff shook their heads.

The MC–109 would have been infinitely helpful in the situation. The combat motorcycle would've made traversing the three quarters of a kilometer a cinch. However, no one had thought this situation would occur and therefore no one had thought of bringing a high-speed motorcycle along.

However, Simmons quickly found his want for a speedy transport unnecessary as a rapidly approaching orange glow caught Hunter Squads attention. The three of them quickly came to a stop and entered the nearby bushes. As they approached the orange glow a feeling of uneasiness washed over them.

"Am I the only one getting a bad feeling from this place?" Nikolai questioned as the three of them neared the clearing.

"You're not the only one Map." Simmons stated as they inched ever so closer towards the bushes on the inside of the clearing.

However before they reached the clearing Simmons altered the squad communication to internal speakers not external. The other two members of Hunter Squad cast glances to Simmons as Simmons motioned to his weapon and pulled a silencer out of his storage unit and fixed it to the front of his weapon.

"Fix silencers, I have a feeling this is going to get messy." Simmons stated in a monotone.

Both Wulff and Nikolai attached silencers to their weapons as they finally reached the bushes on the inside of the clearing. Now capable of actually looking into the clearing they were met with an unsettling site.

"Looks like we found ourselves the camp…" Wulff stated in a dry tone as they observed the figures moving around near the campfires.

"No idea who the hell they are but they don't look friendly, I mean come on just look at that flag!" Nikolai stated pointing to the large white and red flag that was present above the largest tent in the center the camp.

Nikolai's observation that the inhabitants of the camp might not be friendly seemed like a safe assumption. Black pants, white sleeveless jackets and an emblem that screamed hostility. The red wolves head with three claw marks across it definitely didn't seem like it belonged to a friendly group of people.

"Wait, I'm picking up Hastings signal again…Oh for fucks sake, he's in the big tent." Simmons cursed under his breath as the map showed Hastings to be located in the tent at the center of the camp.

That wasn't the main issue. The main issue was the presence of several dozen lifeforms and tents in the camp. Searchlights, patrols and the whole nine yards kept the base in a state which could put some Super Earth defensive positions to shame.

"It looks like the most pressing issue are the patrols… However, If we take them out a lack of regular checkups would lead to our discovery." Simmons stated as the three of them observed the rotating patrols and figures.

"Additionally, we have no idea what their weapons can do…" Nikolai added as Wulff and Simmons looked at the strange, slightly glowing weapons in the hostiles hands.

Nikolai returned to scanning the potentially hostile positions as Simmons gathered his strategic options. They could go in loud, make a beeline to the main tent, secure Hastings, and evacuate. However, the proximity to Waterson left him slightly worried at what might happen if these individuals were left unchecked. The third and final option was a completely stealthy approach, meaning they would have to slowly pick their way through the encampment without alerting the hostile forces.

"Well gentlemen,"Simmons said as he turned towards the other two members of Hunter Squad, "It's just the three of us and we have no idea who or what these people are capable of." Nikolai and Wulff nodded in agreement at Simmons's statement.

"Were only going to have one shot at this… So I guess it's the more cautious approach then." Wulff suggested with a sigh as he flipped the safety off on his rifle, all the while checking if the silencer was properly screwed on.

"Alright, let's do this." Simmons said with a nervous sigh as he signaled for Nikolai and Wulff to follow.

They all froze as a three-man patrol passed by them followed by the low sweep of a searchlight. They held their breaths as the group turned the corner and the searchlight returned to the other end of the camp.

"Move, stay low and don't do anything irrational." Simmons muttered into his com-link as they neared the first tent.

The first few feet were always the worst, be they knee deep in a Bug Hive or infiltrating a Cyborg production facility. The first few feet will always what made or broke an operation in the stealth department. If the enemy knew you were there then that was it, the mission went loud and every single military asset on the planet was out for your ass.

"Map," Nikolai turned his head to face Wulff, "Please don't pull a Turanis VII." They all stopped for a minute behind the first tent as they thought back to that operation.

The Turanis VII went FUBAR from the second hellpods hit the ground. Nikolai had succeeded in alerting several dozen Bug Scouts after he tripped over a small rock. Hunter squad didn't know what hit them and they soon found themselves back on the ship. A few weeks worth of aches and pains from one tiny, little, insignificant, "Fucking cock-hole of a bastard rock", as Nikolai put it.

The three of them quickly shook the feeling as they snapped back to reality. Their current situation refreshing itself in their minds. Simmons neared the corner of the tent but quickly pulled back into the shadow of the tent with Nikolai and Wulff. As they watched from the shadows, one of the hostiles rounded the corner and stopped right in front of the three of them.

"Well… This is quite a situation we found ourselves in." Nikolai stated in a dry tone as Simmons told him with a grunt to politely shut the fuck up.

It was at this moment that Wulff noticed something peculiar about the thermal imaging when looking at the hostile front of them. He noticed two abnormal appendages sprouting from the top of the hostiles head. He quickly tapped Simmons and Nikolai on their shoulders and pointed to the top of the hostiles head.

"Well I'll be damned. Those look like two little cat ears…" Simmons said with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

Nikolai at a similar opinion however he decided he was going to dispatch this enemy. In the blink of an I he had unhooked one of his ice picks from his chestplate, grabbed the individual over the mouth with his glove, kicked out his legs and placed the aforementioned ice pick around the hostile-turned-victim's neck.

As Nikolai soon found out the hostile was abnormally strong. Despite his inhuman strength Nikolai held fast, only tightening his grip and moving the ice pick closer to his neck. After a few seconds Simmons scooted around to in front of him, allowing the man in view of one of his captors. Crouching before the prisoner, Simmons returned the audio to his suit speakers as to try and make conversation with their captive.

"As I see it now you have two options…" Simmons said in a monotone, leaving no room for argument.

"Option one, you cooperate and tell us what we want to know and we'll only knock you out." Simmons finished as Nikolai and Wulff gave out small chuckles.

"Option two; you resist, Try to call out to your friends, be uncooperative or any other such activity and the guy holding you will separate your head from your body faster than you know what happened." Simmons stated as he dropped his hand down.

Their captive nodded, albeit hesitantly, as Nikolai removed his hand from his mouth and moved into a choke-hold. His grip still pressuring the bones in the captive his neck yet allowing them to speak.

"Fuck you human, you…" Was all the prisoner got out as a razor-sharp serrated ice pick simultaneously severed his spinal cord and easily sliced through the flesh connecting his head to his body.

Simmons stood up and wiped the speckles of blood from his armor as Nikolai did the same. Nikolai stood up before letting go of the head, rolling before coming to rest next to the body it belonged to.

"What a dick!" Simmons exclaimed, his suit now in direct-speech mode and no longer broadcasting his words.

"You can say that again, he got blood on my damn ice pick. Things takes Fucking ages to clean." Nikolai griped as they started walking away from the body, returning to the corner of the tent.

From their position they could easily see the rest of the compound. The main tent was easily distinguishable with the large flag out front but the rest of the buildings were mysteries, something they hoped they could've gotten answered.

"From what I can tell we need to get to that tent, it still shows that Hastings is in there." Simmons said as he confirmed for a second time on the map that Hastings was in fact still in the tent directly to their front.

They waited for the patrols that never showed before quickly crossing the short distance between them and the large tent. The major detail did cross their minds, albeit briefly, of the sudden lack of patrols as they stacked up on the tent flaps.

Simmons and Nikolai on the left and Wulff on the right. Simmons counted down with his fingers from three. As the count finished the a burst through the flaps to the tent. Simmons let out a slight sigh of relief as he saw what could only be Hastings tied to a chair in the middle of the tent. Completely disregarding the lack of anything that resembled a guard the three of them rushed over to Hastings, their main priority now ensuring, his somewhat moderate, health.

"Hastings, can you hear us?" Simmons asked as Hastings responded by looking up a grunt of what could only be described as a joy left his helmet.

"Doc, get him untied." Simmons ordered as Wulff nodded before unsheathing his knife and moving around to the back of the chair.

"Map, get SOD on the horn we're gonna need evac..." Simmons was cut off as another voice joined in.

"I don't think you're going to need an evac. Drop your weapons… Now…" Whoever owned the voice was serious as Simmons cursed under his breath.

Hastings fell out of the chair and quickly entered a crouching stance as Nikolai and Wulff both raised their weapons at the hostiles that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The man in the front had a pair of horns sticking out of the top of his mask. Along with his horns, Hunter squad could identify several different animal related appendages on many of the different assailants.

"You don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation..." The horned man, clearly their leader, started as Simmons flashed a slight smirk to the members of Hunter squad.

"Hold on just a tic, are those horns or what are those, I can't really seem to make heads or tails of what you guys are, no pun intended if any of you have tails…" Nikolai couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Simmons started doing what he did best, verbally annoying the living shit out of any hostile capable of intelligent conversation.

"Lay down your arms…" The horned man was starting to sound aggravated

"I mean sure, back where we're from we have people who dress up like that for fun. However, something tells me that those horns are genuine." Nikolai and Wulff could almost see the steam coming out of the man's ears as Simmons spoke.

"Could you shut the hell up! The White Fang does not play games and I assure that you will die here if you do not stop talking immediately!" The man was clearly furious as he was now almost to visibly fuming at Simmons onslaught of remarks.

"There we go, so this is the White Fang?" Simmons said throwing his arms outwards and giving a slight shrug.

"Can't say I ever heard of it." Nikolai said With a fake yawn, joining in on Simmons is fun.

"You four have made the biggest mistakes of your lives, entering a White Fang encampment and killing a White Fang member…" The horned man stated as a sadistic smile crossed Nikolai's face.

Nikolai unclipped the ice pick from his armor and held up blood coated blade. He cocked his head a little bit as he started scratching off the dried blood from the blade.

"You know, I spend quite a bit of time cleaning these blades and keeping them sharp… They guy back there, I think he had cat ears… You know I didn't know it would kill him. I just assumed he would have eight lives left." Nikolai smiled widely under his helmet as the rage in the hostile forces built.

"You humans are all the same, you oppress us Faunus, torture us and kill us. Most of you kill us without even batting an eye. However, this fate will soon befall humanity As we grow in the shadows. The White Fang will soon show humanity that oppressing the Faunus was their worst mistake! it is at this time…"

"Booooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrinnnngggg….." Nikolai drawled, dragging out the word as long as humanly possible.

"Hey, Antler boy! You think it would be possible for us to just walk out of here, you know... just leave. From what I can tell you guys are just another run-of-the-mill terrorist organization looking for one excuse or another to massacre a large population center…. say Waterson for example." The entirety of Hunter squad nearly broke their necks as they snapped to Wulff.

This was followed by chuckles from from Hunter squad, minus Hastings, and a pat on the back from Nikolai.

"Antler boy…. Ha ha ha! That's better than the fucking name I thought up for him." Nikolai stated as he complimented, the normally un-involved, Wulff on his attempt at Simmons's strategy.

Hunter squad, again minus Hastings, entered a several second long group laugh. Completely ignoring the terrorist organization in front of them.

"Kill them… leave nothing!" The now dubbed Antler boy ordered as he left the tent.

Each of the members of Hunter squad entered a combat stance as they prepared to fight. Meanwhile Hastings scurried over to a nearby table where Celia was laid out along with his weapons.

"Going loud?" Came Nikolai's voice through Simmons's helmet as Simmons replied with a nod and within seconds silencers were off their guns and aimed at the four White Fang before them.

Simmons couldn't tell who shot first, but Hastings was the prime suspect, as combat ensued. Nikolai kicked over a nearby metal table as he and Wulff used it as cover. Only a few shots in and Hunter squad was already as intrigued by the White Fang's weapons as they were confused by them. The projectile seem to fly at speeds easily visible to the naked eye, let alone a Helldiver. Dodging the shots was quite easy as Simmons and Hastings nonchalantly sidestepped many of the rounds that flew their way.

It was easy to see that the White Fang soldiers in the tent were quickly losing hope in this battle they had been left to fight as one of them was struck by Nikolai's machine gun fire. The large caliber rapid fire nature of the stalwart machine gun led to the quick evisceration of one of the soldiers. Blood and tissue splattered across the ground and walls of the tent. Confusion at the weapons that Hunter squad was using by the White Fang was quite evident. Simmons took this opportunity to quickly close the distance and engage in close range with his Breaker.

"What the hell kind of dust rounds are they using!" Screamed one of the White Fang members as Simmons knocked his rifle up and out of the way before planting the barrel the breaker on his chest.

Simmons depressed the trigger, emptying six rounds into the White Fang soldier's chest. Simmons quickly ducked under the next volley from the other two soldiers Before lifting his leg and propping it on the still standing bloodied corpse and kicking off with all his might. The corpse flew into the other two soldiers. One of them dodged but was quickly decapitated by one of Hastings rifle rounds.

"Doc, he's all yours…" Simmons said motioning to the White Fang soldier trapped under the corpse of his ally.

"With pleasure." A sadistic smile crept onto Wulff's face As he quickly jumped on both the White Fang soldier's legs, snapping the joints and rooting him to the spot with pain.

Nikolai, Simmons and Hastings exited the tent Only to be met by a large group of White Fang. Simmons looked back to the tent as Wulff emerged, the tent erupting into flames not a moment later. The screams of the trapped faunas echoed from the tent as Wulff fell into line next to Simmons.

"Looks like they didn't fully trust the fours abilities… I'd say they were pretty right about that. Oh and look, they left seconds." Simmons stated with a tone of slight flattery as he motioned to the group of at least a dozen White Fang soldiers with his arms.

"I'm telling you guys, this place is starting to get interesting." Nikolai said as he held a peacemaker in one hand and his ice pick in the other.

It was a few seconds, a Mexican standoff with an inevitable fight. In those few seconds Simmons could see that Antler boy was nowhere to be found. This was simultaneously worrying and slightly comforting in strange way as it seemed like he knew how to fight.

The first action was a shot from one of the larger White Fang fighters. If anything he seemed like he would be the only prominent problem. He had to be at least 7 feet tall had quite a large sword in his one hand and a pistol in the other.

"He's mine…" Nikolai stated as he pointed to the towering White Fang soldier who easily stood a full foot and 4 inches above him.

Nikolai and the behemoth charged at each other. Only feet apart, the large sword was brought down only to be caught in the Ice picks hook. Shots were exchanged but no hits registered for either side as the two separated.

It was Goliath vs. a still slightly drunk David...

 **A/N: There it is! Chapter 4, and it ends with a cliffhanger... man i hate myself sometimes *Goes off to think about life choices***


	5. The Fang and Miss Fall

**A/N: Lumox got out his whip again... and I got to work... again**

 **Shout out** **to Rook435 and edboy4926 for the repeated reviews!**

 **well back to the salt mines for me and the nice and comfy lounge for Lumox... again...**

 **Enjoy the story guys!**

Nikolai gave a grunt of disapproval towards the giant Faunus standing before him. Despite his size, he could match Nikolai in every department, clearly capitalizing on that over-sized sword of his and it's reach.

"Map, you keep him occupied while we clear out these guys!" Simmons ordered as he raised his shotgun, the empty magazine clanking against the ground as a fresh clip slid into the weapon.

"Rodger that Major." Nikolai answered as he held his pick loosely by his side.

Bringing up his peacemaker he gripped his icepick tightly, his glove squeaking as it stretched. He also had a death grip on his pistol as he planted his feet, one in front of his center of mass and the other behind him. Bending his knees he lowered his center of mass and waited for the White Fang to attack.

The giant lowered himself as well but instead of waiting he burst forward at an inhuman speed and collided with a slightly shocked Nikolai.

"Holy hell!" Nikolai sputtered out as he was forced back a few feet by the giant, just barely catching the giants sword on his icepick.

Nikolai gritted his teeth as he strained against the almost overwhelming strength of Faunus. The height advantage was clearly working against him as the Faunus let out a roar and pushed harder and harder with his sword, forcing Nikolai down towards the ground.

As Nikolai fought tooth and nail against the White Fang warrior Simmons found that these fighters were nowhere near as inept and helpless as the ones in the tent. Their ability to barely dodge Hunter Squads munitions was quite frustrating.

"Just hold still you goddamned jack rabbits!" Wulff yelled as he kept missing with his Paragon.

Then Wulff noticed one White Fang make a mistake, his foot placed just off his center off mass causing him to stumble. Wulff smirked as he fired his Paragon, clipping the White Fang in the lower left thigh. The bullet tore through his pants, just barely grazing his skin.

Wulff turned from him to face another target. The White Fang member was confused before capitalizing on the opening. As he closed the distance a silent scream flew from his mouth as a sharp pain pulsed through his entire body. Collapsing on the ground he slowly twitched other members of the White Fang faltering slightly in disgust at the effect of the weapons.

"Keep them off the Lieutenant while he finishes off the little one!" One of the Fang shouted out as they fanned out to distract the rest of Hunter Squad.

Hastings saw their momentary falter and quickly raised his rifle as he fired twice, both shots landing on target. One bullet removing the arm from one White Fang and the other round removing another's leg. The empty magazine dropped from Hastings rifle as he slammed another magazine into the rifle letting a small smile cross his face beneath his mask.

"Keep it up, they can't fight forever!" Simmons ordered as he kept on firing with his Breaker, the rounds shredding two of the White Fang members.

Wulff charged forward, a bayonet affixed to his Paragon. Letting out a battle cry he leapt forward as he plunged the bayonet into a White Fang members chest. The satisfying snapping of the targets sternum as his bayonet pierced into his heart. Giving it a quick twist he ensured the Faunus' death.

Looking up he noticed that Nikolai was struggling against the superior strength of the giant and his sword. Noticing that Nikolai's status was quickly deteriorating on his Squad Hud he reached into his pouch and pulled out a syringe.

"Map, catch!" Wulff called out as he threw the syringe to Nikolai.

Nikolai looked up towards Wulff as the syringe flew threw the air. Giving the White Fang Lieutenant a swift kick in the shin he rolled before catching the syringe. A wolfish grin crossed his face as he plunged the syringe into his thigh.

The nearly toxic concoction flowed through his veins as his breathing increased, his eyes dilated and a ringing developed in his ears. His heart pumped faster and faster as the cocktail took effect. It may be due to the Morphine that he almost didn't feel the dust round punch through his left leg, or perhaps it was the Atropine. He let out a battle cry of his own as he held his ice pick at the ready.

"What the hell?!" The White Fang Lieutenant yelled in confusion as the human charged him, a fist-sized hole in his leg.

Nikolai, despite his spaced-out nature and the massive amount of pain suppressants and adrenaline in his system was quite aware of the appearance of the hole in his leg as he thanked that the round had missed his bone. He could feel the dull pain pounding through his thigh in time with his running as he closed the distance between himself and the White Fang Lieutenant.

Nikolai clashed with the Lieutenant, a new vigor and ferociousness returning to his being as he unleashed hit after hit, just barely being blocked by the Lieutenant. The slight panic was palpable behind the Faunus' mask.

Swiping his sword up he knocked away Nikolai's ice pic and smiled as he swung the sword around and down in a vertical slash, waiting for the halved body of the short man to fall.

However, it never fell as his sword came to a screeching halt with a sickening snapping and squelching of bone and blood.

"What the fuck are you?!" The Lieutenant cursed out as he looked at the ghastly sight before him.

Nikolai stood there, a sick smile spread across his face, the smile twisted with pain and agony as he looked to the sword embedded halfway down his vertical arm. His arm was bisected almost to the elbow as he gave out a hearty laugh and raised his pistol, delivering a three-round burst to the Lieutenants abdomen. Or so he thought.

To Nikolai's shock one of the bullets crumpled and just barely reached him as a barrier around him wavered before shattering and the other two bullets piercing into his abdomen. He let out a yell of pain as he looked Nikolai in the face.

He slowly collapsed as Nikolai delivered one final kick to his chest causing a few loud snaps to echo from his ribs. Nikolai let out a triumphant yell as he turned to the rest of Hunter Squad, his arms raised in victory.

Nikolai was met with a group of three White Fang, their hands behind their heads in surrender as they knelt before Hunter Squad. Simmons was currently standing before them, his Breaker at ease by his side. Nikolai made his way over to Simmons as he slurred his speech. The cocktail of drugs slowly leaving his body through blood loss and lack of activity as his natural adrenaline faded leaving the Atropine still active.

"You... g-guys handle t-the o-other, alright?" He stuttered as his vocal cords started losing their function with the relative abundance of Atropine in his blood.

Wulff let out a sigh as he walked over to Nikolai and stabbed a syringe of Epinephrine into his shoulder. The adrenaline overriding the nerve suppressant as Nikolai shook his head rapidly.

"What the hell!" Nikolai blurted as his head started pounding again with the pain from his leg and arm slowly returning.

Ignoring Nikolai's outburst Simmons turned back to the three White Fang captives. Fear was prevalent on their features as Simmons hoisted his Breaker.

"You see, I will give you one chance here… you have three seconds... Run." Simmons stated in monotone as the White Fang looked confused.

"Three…" Simmons said as he held his Breaker at hip level.

"Two…" The White Fang finally realized what he was doing.

He was giving them a head start…

They had bolted up and started sprinting as the rest of Hunter Squad raised their weapons.

"Open fire!" Simmons ordered as he depressed the trigger.

The White Fang had gotten 20 feet away when the rounds tore through them. The high velocity bullets punctured their clothing and tore at their flesh as they fell to the ground. The kept firing for a few seconds before their clips went dry. Simmons pulled out his pistol and went up to each of the bodies and fired a bullet into each one's head to ensure they were dead.

Simmons turned back to Nikolai, Wulff and Hastings as he holstered his pistol. He had just started back when a swirling bright orange and black circle of energy absorbed the ground next to Nikolai who let out a silent "Fuck".

The patch of ground exploded outwards in a burst of fire and shrapnel in the form of small rocks and pebbles. Nikolai, being unfortunate enough to have his suit already ruptured in several places, caught fire as he let out a long scream of pain before finally collapsing to the ground. Simmons, Wulff, and Hastings were thrown quite a distance had hit the ground and dissipated the flames that had clung to their suit as they quickly shot up to face the new threat.

"Show yourself!" Simmons ordered to the unseen assailant as he scanned the dark treeline.

Suddenly, a glowing orange light made itself known in the inky blackness of the forest. Hunter Squad had been to the most dangerous jungles and stomped through disgusting swamps, fought the toughest enemies the bugs had at their disposal and died at the hands of the Cyborg claws and saws.

Nothing scared them easily, this was no exception. They returned the gaze that the orange light cast towards them. A small chuckle came from the forest as the clinking of glass could be heard. From the forest came a confusing lady, black hair cut just above her neck and an obnoxious red dress. A pale complexion framed her amber eyes as she stared back at Hunter Squad, minus a still slightly crispy Nikolai.

"And who the hell are you?" Simmons questioned as the lady just cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Major, you know what happened the last time you talked like that to someone… right?" Wulff stated as he referenced the police in Waterson.

"This is different, Map just got well done by this lady here and we don't even know her name!" Simmons stated in a slightly aggravated tone as he pointed at her with his Breaker.

They were interrupted as two more pairs of feet could be heard, one slightly… stiffer than the other one. The first pair belonged to a young lady, not much younger than the first, with emerald colored hair, brown pants, and a form fitting green and white top. Red eyes gazed back as the owner of the next pair stepped forward.

Dressed in mainly grey and black with silvery-grey hair the young man, hell both of them looked like they were under 20, stepped forward. Some form of cartridges around his ankles proved confusing to Hunter Squad.

"It feels like they aren't friendly…" Wulff muttered under his breath to Simmons and Hastings.

Simmons and Hastings both nodded as they stood opposite of each other, a still slightly smouldering Nikolai made himself present in the background with a small groan.

"Oh shit… looks like Map is still alive." Wulff said as he turned and started walking over to Nikolai.

"It'd be best to put him out of his misery." Simmons suggested as Wulff noded, pulling his pistol from its holster.

Wulff leveled the pistol with the side of Nikolai's helmet and fired twice, the rounds punching through Nikolai's head. His body went limp as two of the three newcomers to the encampment just stood there and watched.

"What the actual fuck!" The one in grey exclaimed in disgust as he watched with wide eyes as Wulff returned to Simmons side.

"That's messed up…" The green counterpart to grey boy, stated with a more reasonable restriction on her vocabulary.

Simmons turned to the one in the red dress, a slight smirk prevalent on her face as she looked between the three of the remaining members. Simmons was pulled, quite literally, from his thoughts as he felt a tug on his right arm. Turning his head slightly he saw Hastings, a low growl emanating from his helmet, one that could only be linked to a feeling of concern or worry. Quite unusual considering Hastings unwillingness to back down from a challenge. The silence was broken when she spoke.

"Such beautiful chaos… tis a shame that you four… three, were the reason they died." Simmons was starting to hate her, it was just something about that condescending near-monotone.

"I was going to put them in their place anyways… but it appears that I was a little late. As for Adam, where did he go?" Her tone was only wearing down Simmons patience as she continued to speak.

Hastings was continuing his persistent tugging as Simmons turned back to the red dress with an annoying voice.

"If you're looking for the dude in charge he left… a while ago… before we started this." Wulff stated, motioning to the corpses scattered throughout the camp.

"As for you… what's your name." Simmons questioned as Hastings started vigorously tugging on Simmons arm.

"I… well that is a small piece of information that I do not feel you have earned." She stated yet again in that tone of voice.

'Oh… this bitch' Simmons thought as he ground his teeth and slowly felt his finger moving to the trigger of his Breaker.

Simmons had finally had enough of the constant tugging on his arm as he whipped his head around and looked at Hastings who was now violently pointing to the forest and letting out slightly worried grunts.

"Doc... I think it's best if we got out of here." Simmons stated through direct communication as the six of them stood there, eyes locked with visors.

Wulff was about to nod to Simmons when he noticed something strange… they weren't breathing. The three figures across from them swayed but lacked any movement of the diaphragm. Wulff flipped on his thermals to find warm spots on the ground mere feet from himself and Simmons.

"You sneaky bastards!" Wulff yelled as he punched straight out and felt his fist collide with something metallic.

"They have an active camoflauge, use thermals!" Wulff yelled out as both Hastings and Simmons activated their thermals, quickly locating the abnormal heating of the ground.

Hastings and Simmons dove away from the heat signatures as Wulff returned to the metallic contact in front of him. He planted his foot before spinning and delivering a metal boot square in the gut of one of the assailants.

The one in green flickered into existence as the other two slowly appeared as well. A look of slight amusement was visible on the bitchy condescending one's face as she analyzed the three of them. The look was wiped from her face as her eye started to glow and the dress she wore started to glow a bright orange forming very intricate patterns along her arms.

"I, don't watch too many magical shows but glowing is a bad fucking sign!" Exclaimed Wulff as a large bolt of orange smashed through his leg severing it from his body.

Simmons and Hastings just watched as Wulff collapsed to the ground writhing in pain as many dozens of profanities spewed from his mouth.

"Go on… leave me... I will only… ah fuck it." Wulff said as he pulled the pins on his grenades and slammed another cocktail of drugs into his remaining leg.

Forcing himself to stand he started rapidly hopping towards the three enemies before taking a round from grey's weaponized boots. The round had ruptured the tank on Wulffs Flam-24 as he burst into flames before toppling to the ground like a sad excuse for a kamikaze. the two 4 pound grenades detonating as he hit the ground removing him from existence.

Simmons made sure to make a mental note, adding spontaneous combustion to the list of hazards that came with having two absolute psychos and one drunk in his squad. Using this to their advantage they started to run, Hastings covering their trail with two grenades to create a crude smoke cloud.

"We should be safe once we…" Simmons began, but was cut off as the sound of a chain came from the smoke.

He felt it before he saw it, a hooked blade sunk into his right leg before being violently torn through his ligament, severing his lower leg from his body and consequently causing him to have a fine dish of the freshest dirt.

Hastings, being the quick-on-his-feet but not-very-considerate type proceeded to grasp SImmons by the collar of his cape and sling the slightly choking Simmons over his shoulder and blindly began to fire his pistol over his shoulder.

They had gone little over 200 meters when the familiar whine of a dropships engines could be heard in their ears. Hasting looked up and saw the oh-so-familiar Helldiver transport land in the clearing just ahead of them.

As they entered the clearing the door opened up and standing in the door were Nikolai and Wulff. Hastings threw Simmons into the transport before doing a dive into the cargo hold. The ship's doors closed behind them as the ship lifted off.

"I hope we never that whore again." Simmons exhaled as looked at the rest of Hunter Squad.

"Specially those two goons of hers." Wulff added as he looked out the small window.

Little did they know, it was far from the last time they'd be seeing that condescending whore and her two compatriots.

 **A/N: Next chapter should be out in two weeks... make sure review it... we need you to tell us how we're doing (edboy's alright, keep up with those man!)**


	6. Debriefed and Redeployed

**A/N: Keeping up with a timely schedule I see... this is due to Lumox's slave-driver skill**

 **Enjoy the chapter and let us know what you think by leaving a review!**

The trip up to Sword of Damocles was rather quiet. The only noise made was by Wulff as he kept telling Simmons to stop squirming as he treated what remained of Simmons leg.

"I'm telling you, the people here are as far from normal as you can get." Nikolai stated as he leaned back against the wall of the shuttle.

"Yeah… those Faunus people are quite intriguing, seeing as they resemble humans more than their animalistic base… the guys in R&D are going to go nuts." Wulff said as he finished the bandage on Simmons leg.

The three of them nodded in agreement with Wulff, his statement held their attention as they pondered the existence of these abominations, and something new for the R&D boys to mess around with. Perhaps it would keep the science department busy for a good deal of time.

The shuttle rumbled as it pierced through the thick layer of clouds before bursting through into the upper atmosphere.

"This is shuttle 1-1 requesting docking, do you read Sword of Damocles?" Hunter squad heard the pilot question as they neared the damaged behemoth hovering a few miles above them.

"This is SOD, we read you loud and clear. Dock 1 is the least cluttered, we recommend you land there. Over." The bridge ordered as the pilots nodded their heads.

"We'll be landing in a few minutes, you guys keep seated and relax now since once you get back on-board they're gonna question the hell outta you." The pilot said over his shoulder.

Nikolai let out a long sigh as he turned his head and looked to Simmons. The one legged Simmons returned the look with a glare of annoyance. Nikolai and Wulff had been with Simmons long enough to know that being questioned repeatedly and with hard questions was something that Simmons hated to no end.

"I just hope they don't ask any stupid questions…" Simmons muttered as he rubbed the front of his helmet.

The Sword of Damocles grew in the windows of the shuttle as they neared Dock 1. The shuttle slipped into the hold as metal arms reached out and grasped onto the shuttle, pulling it towards the catwalk halfway up the hangar walls. The shuttle jerked to a halt as the doors hissed and lifted up revealing Hunter Squad to the disorganized and cluttered mess that was the engineering department.

"Excuse us…" Nikolai said as he hopped off the shuttle and started pushing through the engineers that swarmed the shuttle before, realizing it was unharmed, rushing down to the main hangar floor.

"Come on Doc, pull the Major's sorry ass outta the shuttle, medical needs to fix him up." Nikolai shouted to Wulff as he turned to face the shuttle.

Wulff nodded as he hoisted Simmons up onto his feet, a small grunt escaping his mouth as he used Wulff as a crutch. They had all exited the shuttle as Hastings followed close behind.

After a few dozen feet later they reached the Medical Bay, a convenient skip, hop, and limp from the hangers due to this exact situation.

"Doc, Map, you two get to the bridge. Hastings is going to stick with me while I get the shit questioned out of me." Simmons chuckled as Hastings took his arm and acted as his crutch.

The door to the Medical Bay closed as Nikolai and Wulff looked at each other. A shrug finding it's way to both their shoulders as they turned and started for the bridge.

Sure, they had all died countless times and it was just more effort to bring a Helldiver back to the ship to get medically treated, but it had some benefits. Short-term was that the Medical Bay food that was amazing compared to the galley and was soon found by Super Earth High Command the reason that many soldiers had "Accidents" moving small objects. However, long-term benefits included the lack of full body pains for a few days from the recreation process.

For some Helldivers, it was an easier and less mentally strenuous process to just off oneself on the battlefield. Living through hell several times a day was something that strained on a Helldivers mind, some veterans suffering from mental instability and repetitive breakdowns. Helldivers, being the only humans with the ability to come back to life, experience the pain and suffering of death and dismemberment comes with the job.

Mental scarring, dementia, insanity and loss of speech are some of the most frequent side effects of being in the Helldivers.

Nikolai and Wulff neared the Command Bridge as they walked down the wide hallway lined with lights and flags of the different nations that were assimilated into the whole of Super Earth.

All the flags; Old Russia, Old England, Old America, Old Germany, Old Australia and the list goes on. The collection of flags stretches along the entire Hallway towards the double door to the Bridge, over which the Super Earth flag is suspended.

"You know Doc, I really find it amazing that the world used to be made up of so many different people…" Nikolai stated as he gazed at the familiar flags of the nations that once made up the Human race.

"Yeah… it's amazing that we all cast aside our nationalities, combined our world militaries and banded together under one title." Wulff stated as he looked at the names under each of the flags.

Passing by both the Old German flag and Old Russia flag they saw their names underneath their respective flags. Each crew-member had a name under their flag, their old nationality only a title now. Old grudges, long forgotten and rooted in the past, stomped out when the Bugs showed their ugly mandibles. The monstrous Cyborgs and fanatical Illuminate showing up shortly after, further rooting the need for a single, combined force.

"We used to be enemies…" Wulff said under his breath as they stopped, backtracking to their flags.

"I heard that too, a 'World War'... that's what the ancient history books said.

"Apparently there were two of them." Nikolai stated, putting a look of sadness of Wulff's face.

"Well… they never taught us about those in school, I wonder why…" Wulff pondered as he stroked the chin of his helmet.

"We may never know the reasoning behind it, but hey… it's in the past now, that grudge needs to stay there. You know we'd never get along if we knew why that war happened." Nikolai said with a smirk as he gave Wulff a light punch in the shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right… it's best not to dwell on these things. I think I'd kill you first." Wulff replied with a smile as he started walking away from Nikolai towards the Bridge.

"You're probably… Wait a minute, you get the hell back here!" Nikolai yelled down the hallway as Wulff picked up his pace.

Jokes about ending another Helldivers life were taken lightly, just like light punches to the arm. Helldivers could just come back, it was mandatory to die in training when joining the Helldivers.

Nikolai and Wulff continued their banter as they walked down the hallway, passing the last few flags before giving a salute to the Super Earth flag. The door to the Bridge sliding open as they passed through and out onto the upper floor of the Bridge. The Strategic Map now semi-permanently showing the planet below them.

"Looks like you two made it back up in more or less one piece." Came the sardonic voice of Engineering Officer Kane as she stuffed a greasy rag into her pocket.

"Yeah, looks like we did… so whats up with the ship, how're her subsystems now?" Nikolai asked as the three of them made their way over to the Strategic Map.

Kane plopped into one of the chairs on the way over to the table before moving it along the motorized rail system to the side of the table. Planting her elbows on the table and interlocking her hands before letting her head rest on her steepled fingers. Nikolai and Wulff remained standing as they looked at the Engineer, her eyes looking between the two of them.

"R&D's gonna loose their shit…" Wulff began as Kane raised her eyebrows.

"How so?" She asked, her interest piqued at Wulffs statement.

"It appears as though there is an unknown material located on this planet." Wulff continued as Kane proceed to listen to their entire spiel on the strange material.

"Other than it's use as a propellant we know little else about it." Nikolai finished as he leaned back against the window railing, arms folded over his chest.

The planet holding in the center of the window behind him as he watched the planet on the Strategic Map slowly spin.

"Looks like this planet just got a whole lot more interesting." Kane said with a smirk as she pushed off of the chair and stood up, stretching her arms out to her sides.

"I'll go down and check on Simmons for you guys. Stay here and enjoy a little bit of rest while you can. If this planet has one distress call then it'll have another pretty soon." Kane stated as she exited the Bridge with a playful bow.

"She never ceases to amaze me, I mean how she finds us at the most convenient of times." Wulff noted as he looked back to Nikolai who had left his position by the window and seated himself in the chair Kane had just left.

Wulff walked over to another chair and seated himself as Nikolai commenced spinning in his chair. It was common knowledge that swivel chairs are not to be left unattended in the presence of Nikolai.

"You do remember what happened to the last swivel chair you did that in?" Wulff said in a monotone as he motioned to Nikolai.

"Yeah, damn thing snapped in half… however, that's why all the chairs are now reinforced.." He was interrupted by the chair which was emitting groans of stress, "Daw shit!" Nikolai exclaimed as the metal under the chair gave way sending Nikolai, and his dignity, to the floor in a crumpled mess.

"Kane is going to beat the shit outta you." Wulff said nonchalantly as he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Nikolai grumbled, as he cursed the chairs, out of embarrassment and hate for the "satanic swivel chairs" as Wulff heard among the other words spewing from his mouth.

"Get your shit together man!" Wulff exclaimed as Nikolai pulled himself off the floor and found a static, non-swiveling, chair.

They both sat in silence as they watched the world below them out the window. Wulff turning his body to face the window as Nikolai gave an obnoxious grunt, turning his torso to face the window. Wulff knew that Nikolai was going to hold a grudge on this, it was just a matter of time before he used this as an excuse for something.

Just as they got comfortable sirens screeched and red lights flashed, filling the room with crimson light. Nikolai was startled out of the static chair as Wulff bolted up and sprinted over to the railing, the communications officer was up and over to the intercom in no time.

"Another distress beacon has come from the planet's surface! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!" The officer stated into the intercom as Wulff and Nikolai made their way over to the phone labeled "Helldiver Use **ONLY** " In big, red letters.

Wulff lifted the glass cover and smacked the buttons as the phone started ringing. In two seconds the phone answered. Simmons was on the other end as he spoke.

"I knew this would happen, you know I'm in surgery as we… God dammit! That fucking hurts!" Simmons cursed as the sound of angry doctors could be heard.

"Should we drop, now or wait for you?" Wulff questioned, completely dismissing the fact that Simmons was undergoing medical procedures as they spoke.

"Well, you know Hastings won't leave my side, and I'm still getting my ass fixed so it looks like you two are on your own." With that, Simmons hung up the phone and left Nikolai and Wulff to look at each other and then back to the phone.

Wulff calmly placed the phone back in the box and closed the glass before walking over to the map, the red blip of where the beacon was coming from blinking.

"Just the two of us?" Nikolai questioned as he looked at the waiting Hellpods and then back to Wulff.

"Looks like it." Wulff said with an exasperated twinge to his voice as he answered Nikolai's question.

Nikolai shrugged as he bounded over to his Hellpod and slid in through the top, securing the straps and harness over his chest. Wulff followed suit soon after and entered his pod, ensuring that he was secured properly.

"This is Hunter 1-3, ready for launch." Wulff said, alerting the Bridge to complete launch preparations.

"This is Hunter 1-2, ready for launch." Nikolai copied Wulff's report as he gripped the handles on the harness and waited for launch.

"This is SOD, we read you Hunter's 2 and 3. Launch preparations complete! Launching in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, Godspeed. Fire!" Wulff and Nikolai shook in their pods as they were launched towards the planet from the Sword of Damocles for the 2nd time that day.

* * *

 **5 Minutes Earlier**

 **Cross Continental Transmit System Substation Romeo, Northernmost Tip of Vale  
Garrison: 2 Soldiers**

"This is Sergeant Phillips with Substation Romeo's hourly report." The silver and blue helmet sat on the table as Anthony Phillips spoke into the military scroll.

"This is Gremlin, go ahead with your report. Over." The Vale Armed Forces headquarters communications officer waited for the response as Anthony got out of his chair and walked into the small lounge.

"We're all green, nothing out of the ordinary to report. Except there is a little bit of unusual Grimm activity off to the east. It's nothing to be worried about though." Silence met Anthony as he made his way to the counter, placing coffee grinds next to the press and turning to the fridge.

"This is Gremlin, we read your report. Make sure to keep your eyes on that Grimm activity, It could be trouble. Take care Romeo station. Over." Anthony closed the scroll and tossed it onto the communications table in the other room.

Anthony grabbed some milk from the fridge as another soldier walked into the room, frigid wind following him through the door. He shivered as he turned and slammed the stubborn door shut.

"Cold as hell outside, wouldn't you say Anthony?" The soldier pulled out one of the chairs as he flopped down, propping his feet up on the table.

"I wouldn't know, I prefer staying inside. Anyways, what the hell does command think they're doing, pulling out everyone but us?!" Phillips griped as he poured the coffee grinds into the Mistrilian Press, a pitcher of boiling water following suit.

"Can you make me a cup, please?" The pleading look on his face was more than Phillips could take as he let out a sigh of defeat and pulled out two mugs from the cabinet.

"You know Frankie, If I wasn't here you probably would've died of starvation by now." Phillips said over his shoulder to Frankie, a look of mock pain on his face.

Frankie dropped the look as he started laughing. He took his boots from the table as he walked over to the counter. Opening the fridge and scanning through its contents like a vulture before finding a half-eaten Chicken salad sandwich. Giving it a once-over, and the good ol' sniff test, he shrugged before popping it in his mouth.

"This... thith ith pretty shith." Frankie said between bites as Anthony looked at him, a blank expression on his face as he pointed at the sandwitch.

"That's been in there for a good 2 weeks. Even Private Jonathan didn't want to touch that." Anthony stated as he poured the two cups of coffee and walking to a table, leaving Frankie at the counter.

Frankie looked between the sandwich and the coffee and then back to the sandwich. Unable to decide whether eating this thing would kill him or not. He thought about it for a minute before shrugging and stuffing the rest of it in his mouth.

"You will, not might, regret that later." Anthony said as he sipped his coffee, a smirk on his face.

"I know, hell, what haven't I regretted doing?!" Frankie exclaimed as he walked over to the table, picked up the coffee mug and took a few sips.

"Oh that's good." He said with a sigh of satisfaction, the coffee making him forget about the frigid temperatures outside.

They both savored the coffee as the wind outside buffeted the glass and shook the door. The wind whistled as it picked up and slowed down, tossing snow all over the place. With no less than a foot of snow at all times, the northern tip of Vale can almost resemble mainland Atlas.

"We might as well be in Atlas with this weather." Frankie quipped as he took another sip of the coffee.

Anthony was about to speak as a small alarm echoed through the room. Anthony and Frankie looked at each other as Frankie got up and walked to the security room across the lounge from them.

"Just turn it off… It's probably the damn squirrels." Anthony said as he returned to his coffee.

Frankie started off towards the security room, his helmet under his arm. Opening the door to the room he walked in and looked around the screens.

"Where the hell is the screen that'll tell me what the system is complaining about…" Frankie stopped mid sentence as he dropped his helmet and sprinted over to the console.

"Oh shit… oh shit, oh shit! Anthony, we're so fucked." Frankie yelled back into the lounge as he started frantically typing on the console.

"What! What happened… oh my god." Anthony muttered as he viewed the main screen, a single message in red blinking back at the both of them.

" **Multiple Alpha Grimm Contacts Detected!"**

"That's not good…" Anthony mumbled in defeat as he stared at the screen, dozens of red blips closing in on the facility from the east.

The shattering of glass alerted Anthony to Frankie's actions as he punched the emergency military beacon. They sprinted out of the room, Frankie grabbing the emergency Scroll, and down the hall towards the armory. As they entered the armory the Scroll started to ring as Frankie answered, Anthony frantically pulling on his armor and the live ammunition.

"Romeo Station, what's your status?" Gremlin questioned as Frankie put the Scroll on speaker and placed it on the bench.

"Up shit creak without a paddle and a whole bunch of Alpha Grimm closing in, fast." Frankie stated as he started to get suited up as well.

"Now, this would be a tough fight with a full compliment, but we're running on a skeleton crew here. We need reinforcements immediately." Anthony said as he snapped the helmet onto his head and picking his Assault rifle up off the rack.

"No can do Romeo, the weather is preventing anyone from getting up there, you're on your own. Repeat, you are on your own!" The Scroll went dark as HQ hung up.

Frankie looked at Anthony, a look of some hope still prevalent in his eyes. Frankie snapped his helmet on too as he ran out of the armory, grabbing a shotgun from the rack as Anthony followed close behind.

"We can still get backup, get a general emergency alert out. The VAF just screwed us over, maybe the local militia will lend a hand?" Frankie stated with a sliver of hope as they both burst through the lounge and out into the frigid air of the North.

"Holy hell, it's goddamned cold!" Anthony exclaimed as Frankie looked at him, his scroll in his hand.

Typing out a few commands the scroll started to blink as he pocketed it. The beacon now set and actively calling.

"It's set, we just need to hold out until help arrives!" Frankie exclaimed as he hoisted his Shotgun up and struggled to see through the thick, white wall of snow.

A few seconds later Frankie's scroll started ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket he saw an unidentified contact calling him. Answering it using his helmet he was met with a blank caller photo. Any questions he had were halted as the caller spoke.

"We have received your distress beacon, Hunter Squad is on the way." This shocked the two of them.

A Hunter team? On their way to help them? Maybe they wouldn't die. They were both filled with hope as their morale rose.

"What direction are they coming from?" Frankie asked as he saw the black outlines of the Grimm in the blizzard.

"Above, T-minus 5 seconds until impact." The voice counted down as both Frankie and Anthony were confused.

"Above? What the hell does he…" Anthony was interrupted by a loud whistling as two objects burst through the clouds above, burning a brilliant orange as they smashed into the ground 20 feet from them.

"What the hell are those?" Frankie asked, completely dumbfounded.

They moved towards the steaming objects cautiously, pausing as the tops of the cylinders hissed open. Anthony and Frankie stared into the pods, only to find a glossy visor staring back at them.

"Gah, what the hell!" Frankie said, falling on his ass as from the pod emerged a 5 foot 8 inch tall figure in what appeared to be a heavily modified winter coat.

"Doc, get out here!" The figure yelled to the other pod as another figure pulled itself out of the pod.

"Never gets old… you guys the distress beacon?" The figure in the hazmat suit said as he pointed to the two of the soldiers.

"Yes… where's the rest of you?" Frankie asked as he saw the Grimm slowly walking into view.

"We're it, looks like we're in for a fight!" The one name Doc exclaimed as he chambered a round into his gun and took aim at the now rapidly approaching Alpha Beowulf.

Frankie and Anthony watched as the two figures unloaded into the Beowulf with strange weapons, the lack of dust being the most prevalent oddity. In only a few seconds the Beowulf fell to the side before evaporating.

"We may be it… but we can hold our own pretty well. Nikolai Vadimovich, at your service. Call me Map." The one in the winter armor said with a bow as the other one stepped forward.

"Wulff Ferdinand, you can call me Doc…" Doc said with a nod as he turned around to face the rapidly fading blizzard.

As the snow died down it left Frankie, Anthony, Nikolai and Wulff wishing the snow hid what surrounded them. Almost three dozen contacts and growing as Wulff and Nikolai looked at each other.

"This looks like fun, main objective is keeping these two alive." Doc said as he pointed to the two soldiers behind them.

They gave each other a curt nod before sprinting off into the horde of Grimm. Leaving an extremely confused Frankie and a mildly upset Anthony in their wake.

 **A/N: So, follow the story if you haven't... and maybe favorite... but above all, leave a review!**

 **Thanks for reading and enjoy the next chapter... when it comes out... eventually...**


	7. Idiots and Intelligence

**A/N: Back at it again with the on time uploads with Lumox at the steering wheel.**

Wulff and Nikolai dodged between the Grimm, spraying their weapons at anything that moved. Pretty soon Wulff and Nikolai had to reload their weapons, empty clips sinking into the snow as new ones slid into their guns.

"It looks like we're surrounded!" Wulff shouted as they both noticed the rapidly increasing number of Grimm encircling them.

"Good… now we can shoot in every direction!" Nikolai smiled widely under his helmet as they continued to fire, throwing a few grenades now and then.

As they kept killing the Grimm, they noticed the other two soldiers adding supporting fire of their own. Their rounds moved faster than the ones that the White Fang were using, hitting the Grimm at roughly the same time the weapon was fired.

"We need to regroup with the two by the radar!" Nikolai shouted over the din of the Grimm and gunfire.

"Roger that, let's move!" Wulff yelled back as they met up at the break in the fighting and sprinted back towards the two soldiers.

They hopped up the hill, bounding through the snow as they neared the soldiers at the top of the hill. Nikolai vaulted the small barrier that was between them and the radar, deploying his bipod on the light machine gun. Wulff following up with a diving roll over the barrier and braced his weapon as he resumed firing.

"So, we never heard your names… you two have names right?" Wulff questioned as the four of them fired at the approaching Grimm.

The three dozen original beowolves rapidly turning into at least a hundred Grimm of varying species. As Nikolai and Wulff reloaded they noticed that the two soldiers had yet to reload, and they had been firing for the past minute, with only a few seconds between bursts.

"Sergeant Anthony Phillips, and the one to my right is Private Franklin Moorson. Thanks for the backup." Anthony finished as the four of them continued to fire at the Grimm.

"You can just call me Frankie!" The soldier shouted to Wulff and Nikolai as they Grimm continued to advance despite the heavy fire from their weapons.

"These things just won't stay down!" Nikolai said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he reloaded his LMG, empty shell casing littered the metal flooring beside him.

It was at this point that Nikolai realized they were getting nowhere, and his weapon was starting to feel really, really light. Thinking quickly, Nikolai pulled out one of his beacons and threw it a few meters away. The beacon lit up a bright blue as a cyan light shot up into the sky, piercing through the clouds. Frankie and Anthony looked up at the sky in awe as the clouds started to glow orange around the beam.

"Get away from the beacon!" Nikolai shouted as he pulled Anthony away from the blue beam.

Tossing Anthony to the side Nikolai himself stepped back as the small hellpod smashed into the ground only a few feet from them. Normally the pod was down to the foot but this time the pod had landed a meter away from the beacon, causing a near-death situation with Anthony.

"It's probably due to clouds that the hellpods were off." Wulff said with a shrug as the pod opened and a small pedestal rose out of it, two boxes of ammunition atop it.

In the blink of an eye, Nikolai and Wulff were over to the boxes and quickly shoving magazines, individual bullets, and other assorted items into the various pouches on their suits. Anthony and Frankie looking back every now and then as they continued to suppress the encroaching horde of Grimm.

"How you guys holding up?" Wulff shouted over his shoulder to Frankie and Anthony as he placed a fresh magazine in his Paragon.

"We're holding up pretty well. However, we only got about a quarter of our mags left." Frankie replied as he watched Nikolai and Wulff return to their positions at the low wall.

Nikolai returned to firing his Stalwart, the constant flow of well managed, high velocity democracy cut through the Grimm. The Grimm started to disperse after a minute of Nikolai's continued firing.

"Hold fire!" Anthony yelled as the four of them stopped their attack and observed their surroundings.

The rapidly disintegrating corpses eased the four of them down from their adrenaline-fueled defense of the station. Taking a deep breath, Nikolai leaned against the low wall before letting out a long, and loud, sigh. The silence lasted for a moment after that before a loud clap from Wulff caught everyone's attention.

"Looks like you two don't need our help anymore…" Wulff began but was quickly interrupted by a piercing shriek from the mountains.

"Oh, for Christs sake!" Nikolai exclaimed as he threw his arms out and let them fall against his sides.

"Nevermore!" Frankie yelled as the two soldiers ran for the overhang of the station, leaving a miffed Nikolai and a rather awe-struck Wulff in the flight-path of a pissed-off Nevermore.

Unable to mentally calculate the situation Nikolai assumed the role of the distressed toddler, who upon figuring out he couldn't reach something, resorted to violent means. These means involving the large amounts of led currently impacting the hostile bird.

However, Wulff proceeded to observe the large bird and used Nikolai's weapon as a gauge for it's protection. Upon seeing that his bullets were barely penetrating the surface of the feathers, decided that a larger amount a firepower was in order.

"Map!" Wulff yelled over the din of machinegun fire, causing Nikolai to turn his head and face him.

"What?!" Nikolai yelled back, doing a roll to the side and avoiding the rather nasty looking talons of the Nevermore.

"We need an A/MG-II, right now!" Wulff yelled once again as the Nevermore circled back for another pass, this time aiming at Wulff.

"Run, you gotta get outa that things way!" Nikolai said, notifying Wulff to the birds rapid approach.

Wulff mentally cursed as he not only failed to initiate a dive, but instead ran in the direction, perpendicular to the Nevermores flight-path.

"No you idiot, dive!" Nikolai yelled as Wulff finally dove to the side, the Nevermores talon tearing down the small cape connected to his back.

Letting out a sigh of relief into the snow before pushing himself up, Wulff pulled out a beacon and punched a few numbers into his radio before tossing the small blue ball. The ball rolled a bit before coming to a stop, unfolding and projecting the beam into the sky.

"Map, keep it occupied!" Wulff ordered as he too opened fire at the bird, the paragon unable to penetrate and deliver it's poison.

The Nevermore let out a wild screech as it turned quickly and entered an almost vertical diver at them, shielding it's face with it's wings before opening them wide.

"Move, get down!" Yelled Anthony as Nikolai and Wulff both realized what was wrong when the bird threw its wings forward.

Dozens of feathers, greater than 7 feet in size, hurtled towards them as they frantically tried to dodge them. Wulff was fortunate enough to get a slanted piece of wall between himself and the bird while Nikolai… was not as fortunate.

Several loud thuds followed by two wet ones echoed through the mountains as the Nevermore resumed its flight, passing overhead with a triumphant screech. Wulff exited cover and rushed over to Nikolai.

"Holy shit…" Mumbled Frankie and Anthony simultaneously as they observed the pinned body of Nikolai.

Half-standing and half-falling Nikolai found himself stuck to the ground by two of the large feathers. Turning his head slightly he observed Wulff jogging over to his body, reaching a hand into his pocket and pulling out a tape measure.

"What the FUCK are you doing?!" Nikolai sputtered out as Wulff passed his head and arrived at the feathers that passed straight through his upper torso and lower left thigh.

"Taking measurements you idiot." Wulff said in a voice that screamed 'What the hell else would I be doing? Giving you medical treatment?'

"You're a fucking asshole." Nikolai coughed out as his chest cavity slowly filled with blood.

"I know, want me to just off ya?" Wulff asked casually, completely ignoring the nevermore and the two soldiers still hiding near the station.

"Alright, just remember that the glorified pigeon will be back any second." Nikolai said with a final breath as Wulff drew Nikolai's pistol from his holster and shot him square in bottom of his jaw up through his head.

Letting the pistol slide back into Nikolai's holster, he watched as the corpse slowly faded away. Guns, bullets and all as he backed away from the two bloodied feathers. Giving a smirk of satisfaction he turned, and soon found himself face-to-face with two rifle barrels.

"You know what? I can't handle this shit, let's kill the sodding Nevermore and then I'll let you in on something OK! Alright… good, god damn, now I'm talking like the medical officer!" Anthony and Frankie lowered their rifles out of shock after Wulff's rant.

As they lowered their weapons the Nevermore reminded them of it's existence as another screech echoed through the mountains. Turning around rapidly, they found themselves facing the rapidly approaching Grimm. Frankie and Anthony started to scatter as Nikolai looked up and smirked, a small blue pillar lined up with the center of the Nevermores chest as his radio crackled.

"This SOD, A/MG-II turret inbound!" Crackled the voice as a burning hot hellpod smashed into the Nevermores back, near the base of it's tail.

The nevermore let out a sound of pain as the subsonic pod forced the Nevermore to the ground. However, the pod was unable to pin the Nevermore to the ground as it forced itself up from the ground, shaking as it let out an angry screech.

"Whatever you did, it didn't work… It's still alive!" Frankie yelled to Wulff as Wulff just returned a blank helmet.

Frankie was about to run out and grab the psychotic Hunter as a loud clanking could be heard from the object embedded in the back of the Nevermore. The Nevermore also gave out a curious look as it struggled to crane its neck and flailed it's wings in an attempt to dislodge the large metal structure in it's back.

Within 2 seconds the top of the pod hissed open and out of it's back emerged a quite large minigun, mounted on a swivel turret. The turret, despite lacking an AI seemed quite confused with the rotation anomalies it was experiencing as it's scanner detected that the target was beneath it.

Letting out a beep, it's sensors locked onto the Grimm it was inside of. The turret swiveled and swung downwards to the maximum degree of depression it could achieve before applying small, single degree adjustments. The head of the nevermore was squarely in it's sight as the barrels spun up. The Nevermore's eyes widened slightly in surprise before the tri-barreled chaingun unloaded into it's head.

The air was filled with a deafening buzz, hundreds of casing spewed from the ejection port as the 30 millimeter rounds removed the nevermores head from it's body.

The head fell to the floor as the body went limp, quickly evaporating and leaving the gun turret to fall a short distance to the ground. The turret swiveled awkwardly as the hellpod was now above the ground and leaning at an awkward angle.

"Now… about those questions I told you guys about…" Wulff said, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked up into the sky, a quite humm slowly getting louder and louder.

"Who do you work for?!" Frankie and Anthony asked, their guns raised again as they slowly approached Wulff, handcuffs apparent on Anthony's hip.

"Well, I'm not here to answer any questions… well i guess the evaporating was quite the shock…" Wulff mumbled as the two of them stopped approaching, a rapid beeping coming from the four pods related to the Helldivers.

"I'll be going now!" Wulff quickly spat out as he turned and started sprinting, a loud drone now audible to both Frankie and Anthony.

They both looked up to the noise, their faces warping to one of surprise and awe. A dual engined VTOL dropped down from the clouds, coming to a near instantaneous stop. The doors sliding open revealing three figures dressed in similar garb to Wulff. Each of them had capes attached to their backs.

The color scheme of deep black and yellow stood out against the snow as Wulff dove into the hold. The doors slammed shut behind him as the engines cranked up to full power, the Shuttle speeding off into the clouds.

"Damnit! They got away…" Anthony sighed as he picked up one of the shell casings from the turret next to him.

Spinning it in his fingers he gasped in shock as the shell quickly turned to dust and drifted off in the wind. The beeping from the turret quickened as he cursed under his breath, diving away from it.

The four pods on the ground proceeded to burst into flames and melt into the ground as Anthony and Frankie watched on in confusion.

"Nothing remains of them." Frankie said as a loud thud echoed from above them.

"What the… get down!" Anthony ordered as they both rolled to the side, sliding before turning to face the round object that impacted the metal flooring beside them.

The cylinder expanded and opened as a small antenna rose from it. Turning a few inches before beeping and sending out a visible magnetic pulse. Anthony and Frankie dropped their rifles as they heated up to painful levels.

"What the hell was that?!" Frankie hissed as he stuck his hands in the snow, Anthony realizing something as he noticed the lights near the station flickering.

"No…" Anthony muttered as he ran towards the entrance, the electric door stuttering and sparking as it struggled to open.

Forcing his way through the door, he sprinted through the flashing emergency lights and fried TV's. Entering the security room, a look of anger crossed over his features as he stared at the screen, smashing his fist into the desk. He cursed as he read the message on the screen.

'Critical Electronics Failure! Cause: Unknown' Anthony repeated in his head as he racked his mind on the device from earlier.

Frankie entered the room a few seconds later, spotting the message on the terminal he let out a sigh as he looked at the fried equipment. A perplexed look on his face as he stood next to Anthony at the desk.

"All this equipment was working before that device landed here." Frankie stated, Anthony nodding in acknowledgement as he took a seat in a nearby swivel chair.

"Whatever the hell they used… it fried our entire electrical grid." Anthony said in disbelief as he shook his head, taking off his helmet and placing it on the table.

"If they can cripple us that easily... " Frankie sighed as he looked at the flickering screens.

They both had mixed feelings of fear and confusion as they pondered on what these people could do to the Vale Military if they so chose to act.

What they didn't know was that it was only a matter of time.

 **A/N: So, this is it for chapter 7, short sweet and to the Democracy dispensing point.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to leave a review and follow us up!**


	8. Fight or Flight -(the vacation chapter)

**A/N: Looks like this is the literal vacation chapter, written to you from the lovely (And very humid) islands of the Bahamas! So i'm just saying this chapter is short becasue I'm running off of my Grandparents wifi and am not expecting to have a stable connection... so enjoy this chapter for now while I put together a nicer one for next time.**

"Jesus christ." Sighed Wulff as he looked between the other members of Hunter Squad, including a slightly upset Nikolai.

"Hey Doc… have fun out there?" Nikolai asked, his voice eerily calm.

"Well yes, it was quite enjoyable. However, seeing you speared by that…" Wulff was interrupted by an irritated yell.

"That fucking oversized pigeon was bullshit! It shot god damned feathers from its wings, did they tell us about that? No, those two assholes didn't say shit!" Nikolai had officially entered rant mode and bantered on and on to noone in particular about his encounter with the "Oversized Pigeon".

As Nikolai ranted on and on, Wulff turned to Simons and Hastings, giving Simons a curt salute before speaking.

"It went… about as well as Map is putting it out to be. Safe to say we saved their asses… but…" Wulff stuttered as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"But?" Simmons asked, his eyebrow raising under his helmet.

"But, it appears that the soldiers take our revival process worse than those civilians in that town… safe to say dying in front of the military is a bad idea, unless you want them to see us as a threat like the Grimm things they have down there." Wulff finished as Simmons nodded, taking a seat on the transports bench.

Simmons knew that diplomatic relations would be difficult, but upon seeing that the native military force would see them as a threat, no sooner trust them, they were in for a rough ride. Additionally, the fact that their process of being almost unstoppable super-soldiers required imitating the enemies of the entire planet's population Simmons could only see relations degrading as people's views about them were swayed by media and mere rumors.

"Man… I really wish we still had a PR department in the SEN, I actually miss those over-charismatic spokespeople." Simmons leaned back as he put a hand on his helmet and thought.

"Not to mention those god damned feathers, I know i've talked about them before but christ…" Nikolai was interrupted by a hard slap to the side of the helmet.

"Just just the hell up, if you were even remotely perceptive you would have noticed no one has been listening to you for the past several minutes." Wulff said in a monotone, oblivious to the pout Nikolai now wore under his visor.

Just as Simmons was about to speak the pilot spoke through the speakers in the cargo bay.

"This is your captain speaking… it appears as though we are going to be experiencing some turbulence in our immediate future. Like… holy shit," The pilot paused as the transport shook, "Right now, we got an unidentified craft on our tail!" The pilot finished as he took evasive maneuvers.

"Why the hell aren't we in the upper atmosphere right now!" Simmons yelled back as the transport shook again.

"Well, you see… the EMP that we dropped on that position we picked up Doc from is still interfering with our subsystems, making travel in the upper atmosphere problematic to say the least." The pilot shot back as he twisted the stick, a thumping sound now distinguishable over the din of the engines.

"What the hell is that?!" Nikolai asked as he opened up the side door to the transport and leaned out, Wulff following suit, the form of a strange military craft visible behind them.

The sharp metallic structure of the craft behind them reminded both Wulff and Nikolai of the station they had just helped. Nikolai closed the door as several rounds whizzed past the opening, bouncing off the side of their transport. Wulff took a seat as Nikolai fell backwards with the next maneuver. Simmons cursed under his breath as he rushed to the front of the craft.

"Why the hell aren't we outrunning that thing?!" Simmons yelled to the pilot, basically right into his ear.

"Because of that fucking EMP! Jesus, it's not like I said that before." The pilot shot back as he rolled the craft, just barely dodging another burst from the fighter's weapons.

The co-pilot flipped a few switches as he pulled on a different headset. The communication unit fuzzed before giving out a solid tone. The co-pilot nodded before handing Simmons the headset and nodding. Simmons raised the mic to his helmet as he spoke.

"Unknown military craft, identify yourself." Simmons started but was interrupted by the craft chasing them.

"No, you're the one who needs identification here… you have entered Vale Airspace and are required to stop your craft now or be shot down!" The other craft's pilot spoke.

"What the hell do you mean, "will be shot down"?! You've been trying to shoot us down for the past minute!" Simmons shouted back, a growing anger in his voice becoming prevalent.

As Simmons continued his shouting match with the pilot of the hostile aircraft, Nikolai soon discovered that the fighter behind them want the only one. Looking out the left side window of the transport Nikolai spotted another aircraft lowering from the upper cloud cover. Quickly swiveling his head he spotted another one lowering from cloud cover on the right side.

"Major…" Nikola said, tugging on Simmons cape.

"What?!" Simmons replied in an angry manner as he turned away from his verbal dogfight with the pilot of the aircraft behind them.

"There are two others…" Nikolai pointed out as he motioned to both sides of the cockpit, Simmons quickly spotting both of the aircraft that now covered them on three sides.

"Is there anything you can do to lose them?" Simmons asked the Pilot as he turned around and gave Simmons a shrug.

"Is that all you can do? Shrug! Fine, keep flying… We'll handle the hostiles." Simmons said as he exited the cockpit with Nikolai.

The pilot turned around and gripped the stick harder as he pulled an extra harness over himself and buckled in. He knew from experience, that this was going to be a bumpy ride.

 **A/N: Well thats the vacation chapter... hope you guys will be looking forward to the next one, that I'm writing from home and not the island paradise... enjoy your week as I enjoy mine! Take care and see you next time.**


	9. A Bumpy Ride

**A/N: Hey guy's! Here's the next chapter... also on another note, I'm going to answer some question from reviews,**

 **CC 2224 - Sorry CC, no Rant about freedom today**

 **Catacus - Nope... no aura here, it's all nearly immortal super soldiers with skillfully well-managed democracy.**

 **Rook435 - Eventually they will meet teams RWBY and JNPR.**

 **With the authors note now basically done, let's get on with the chapter... shall we?**

Nikolai was not amused, not in the slightest as he vision tumbled and turned in spirals as he was thrown about. His vision focusing for a second he spotted a hand railing. Propping his feet on the wall he crouched, and in a small bout of weightlessness, he pushed off smashing into the handle but securing a death grip on the railing.

"God Dammit man, fly this thing just a little bit straight will ya!" Simmons yelled as he went flying past Nikolai, landing on the rear wall of the transport as it went into a steep climb.

"You wanna get shot? Or do you wanna have a little bit of a bumpy ride?" The pilot yelled back sarcastically as the transport started pitching.

"Yeah, a bumpy ride… not a god damned tumble dryer!" Simmons shot back as physics and Newton's first law became his enemy.

Simmons was violently forced off of the rear wall and smashed into the ceiling before being slightly weightless. However, for only a second before the transport entered a vertical dive and he was smashed into the rear wall again.

Nikolai clung to the railing with dear life as he watched Simmons being tossed around the hold like the world's largest ragdoll.

"Doc, help him!" Nikolai shouted as Wulff returned a look of disappointment to Nikolai who was cowering against the wall, threatening to tear the handles from the wall.

"I'm not turning into a bloody human ping pong ball! Why don't you get ass off the wall and you stop him?!" Wulff shot back as he tightened the harness, his legs being pulled about by the rapidly changing forces.

As they argued, Simmons gained his bearings and found purchase on one of the harnesses. Embracing the seat harness in a hug like no other. He shook his head as he looked back at Wulff and Nikolai, still arguing about who should get him.

Before he opened his mouth he looked at the seat next to him and was met with a blank stare from Hastings helmet.

"Comfortable?" Simmons asked as Wulff and Nikolai both stopped their idiotic screaming match to look at the seated Hastings and flailing Simmons.

Hastings replied with a satisfied grunt as he nodded his head and unbuckled his harness. Standing up from his seat, letting out a proud grunt as his boots locked to the Floor of the transport.

"Why the hell do his boots lock to the transport's floor!?" Nikolai exclaimed as he took one hand away from the handle briefly to point at Hastings boots before returning his death grip.

Hastings made his way to the right side cargo door and pulled the release out before twisting and pushing the handle back into the door. The door slid inwards and then into the wall as Hastings leaned out the side of the craft and looked at the three aircraft on their tail before quickly pulling back into the ship as a few round smashed off the reinforced hull.

"Hastings, you're gonna get your ass killed standing there!" Simmons shouted as he planted his feet and held onto the seat's harness, the only thing keeping him from becoming the world's largest ragdoll for a second time.

Hastings nodded, but was interrupted as several loud stomps came from the top of the shuttle. Hastings was caught off guard when he looked out the door and found himself face-to-face with a black and white helmet.

Reaching up with lighting speed, Hastings gripped onto the robots head and pulled down. It's torso caught on the frame of the transport as its metal neck cracked and tore as Hastings pulled the head into the transport. The sparking head still in his hands, Hastings pulled his pistol out as he received 2 metal boots to his chest.

"Shit, get that door closed!" Simmons yelled as the pilot stabilized the craft, the robots now forcing their way in.

Simmons rushed to the door but was met with a metal fist to the face as robot after robot poured in. Soon standing before them were 6 black and white robots. The lack of space in the shuttle would be a true problem as it was only made to hold six people at maximum, let alone 4 Helldivers and 6 large robotic soldiers.

"Let em have it!" Simmons yelled from his downed state as Nikolai finally removed his grip from the handle, now a little bent, and cracked his knuckles.

"With pleasure…" He said, a toothy grin spread across his face as he charged a robot not looking at him.

His fist drawn as far back as it could go, he let out a grunt as he delivered a hell of a punch into the robot's metal dome. Despite his plated gloves he winced slightly at the reverb of the punch. However, as they soon found the robot was a little more worse for wear as it's cranial structure was completely caved in. Nikolai let out a laugh as he ducked under the first punch sent his way.

As he bobbed and weaved he noticed that Hastings was out cold. The kick to his chest had sent him into the opposite door hard enough to dent the reinforced steel. The robot that had taken him had already moved to join its allies in fighting the other three members of Hunter Squad.

"Get off me you metal bastard!" Simmons grunted as he blocked the punches from the robot that was currently straddling him.

As the robot on Simmons pulled back its fist Simmons shot a quick punch into its chest and staggered it as he pushed into the hydraulics on the bipeds thigh he hoped that these things had a similar weak points to humans with their hydraulic muscles.

Simmons soon found that it did as its leg spasmed at the sudden change in hydraulic pressure. Kicking his leg out and bringing it back over the front of the robot's neck, he found himself one-up on the robot. Smirking, he gripped the robots reversed arm and brought it down on his pelvis, the arm bar making the servos groan before the metal joint snapped.

Rolling backwards Simmons shot up and lunged forwards delivering a knee straight to the robots chin, shattering the smooth faceplate and snapping the neck backwards. As the mechanical body fell to the floor he looked towards Wulff who had just deflected a bladed arm belonging to one of the robots with his own knife.

"Make yourself useful Major, help me!" Wulff grunted as he pushed back against the bladed arm of the robot, struggling to keep the dagger from his jugular.

Thinking fast he delivered a swift kick to the machines leg but was surprised when the machine showed almost no reaction. Instead it reeled back its blade and shot forward, taking advantage of Wulff's surprised state, the dagger piercing straight through his left shoulder.

"Fuck… you piece of metal sh..." He yelled, unable to finish as the robot punched him straight in the chest sending him flying off the blade and skidding to a halt at the other end of the hold.

"Dammit," Nikolai cursed out upon seeing another ally go down, "Major, what do we do!" Nikolai cursed out as he dove backwards, missing a metal knee to the face by an inch.

Standing up, Nikolai looked to Simmons who had taken a combat stance next to him at the far end of the cargo hold. A bloody Wulff at their feet and an unconscious Hasting on the other side of the four robots that remained.

"Two of those damn robots for two of us... this isn't looking good Map." Simmons mumbled in a grim tone, unsheathing the knife from his hip holding it in a reverse grip.

"Da, this isn't looking very good at all." Nikolai responded as he too drew his weapons, the two ice picks that he had not been able to access until now.

Simmons and Nikolai glanced at each other before nodding. They had just started their charge when four loud cracks echoed through the hold, the four robots stopping in their tracks, falling forwards to the floor. Bullets in each of their heads.

Nikolai and Simmons looked towards the cockpit hatch and saw the Co-pilot standing there with his Peacemaker drawn, the barrel still smoking. A neutral look on his face as he twirled his pistol before sliding it into the holster on his thigh.

"You four really got messed up, dump those out the door so we can dodge these hostile rounds better." The copilot stated nonchalantly as he returned to the cockpit.

Nikolai just stared at the door as he slowly turned to Simmons who just replied to his dumbfounded look with a shrug. Simmons just shook his head and sheathed his knife before turning to the six robot frames.

"I actually wanted to use these things…" Nikolai mumbled in a dejected manner as he hooked the ice picks back onto his vest, walking towards the unconscious bleeding body of Wulff and still unconscious Hastings.

Simmons pushed the metallic bodies to the door before pushing them all out, the figures spiraling as they plummeted towards the ground. Simmons wiped his hands as he looked at Nikolai. Nikolai had just finished up securing the other two members of Hunter Squad in two seats as the familiar snap of gunfire from the ships started up again.

"Get in a seat, now!" Simmons yelled as Nikolai hopped in a seat and pulled the harness down.

Simmons jumped over to a seat of his own as he hooked in, the ship shaking as the fire from the hostile aircraft getting dangerously close.

"What the hell pilot, lose them!" Nikolai yelled into his radio as the craft bobbed around and entered a climb, the pilot replying a second later.

"You wanna try flying!? No? Ok then, just shut up and let us do our job!" The pilot shot back as Nikolai looked at the offending radio and then the door to the cockpit.

Simmons watched as Nikolai mentally murdered the pilot and co-pilot. It was quite amusing and just about as close as they were going to get to a break from the looks of what had already transpired.

Then the transport lurched to the side followed by a brief silence, and then chaos as rounds punched through the rear of the craft. Holes appeared in the sides and back of the craft as the guns chewed through the thick metal plating.

After the fire stopped, Nikolai and Simmons looked at each other and then around the cabin. The many dozens of new windows in the hull made them feel lucky that they were unharmed.

"At least we're still alive…" Nikolai said, letting out a sigh as the transport lurched again, this time downwards.

"This is your captain speaking," Came the pilot's frighteningly calm voice over the speakers, "If you look out the right side of the aircraft you will notice a rather worrying amount of black smoke coming from the engine." Simmons and Nikolai Looked out the window at the shot up engine as it twitched and sputtered.

After observing it, a loud bang and tearing was heard as the engine burst into flames and shut down as Simmons and Nikolai watched. The aircraft quickly tilted to the right as engine power dropped dramatically.

"And now it's on fucking fire, great. This is you captain again, this bucket wasn't meant to fly on one engine in atmosphere." The pilot stated as his struggle with the controls could be felt by the still conscious members of Hunter Squad.

The transport, being a mainly space-faring vessel, relied on the array of thrusters and vtol engines to fly. The fact that one of the main engines had gone FUBAR meant that almost 50% of the vehicle's thrust was gone. Also the lack of any real wings meant that gliding was not an option.

"What do you mean, not meant to!" Simmons yelled through his radio as the transport continued its downward descent, the forest below them rapidly approaching.

"These dropships aren't meant to spend a long time in atmosphere… perhaps if we didn't use a damn EMP then we wouldn't be in this situation!" The co-pilot answered Simmons question, throwing in a blunt criticism of his previou order.

"Oh, so now it's my fault!?" Simmons returned fire as the co-pilot let out a loud sigh.

"Can we not argue about this right now!? We're kind of trying to fly a broken dropship." The communication with the cockpit cut off as Simmons let out a sigh of defeat.

"So he complains about it and then he cut's communications!?" Simmons questioned under his breath as Nikolai remained silent in his seat, gripping the harness for dear life and making sure it was well secured.

Wulff regained consciousness at possibly the worst moment he could. Awakening to the sound of emergency sirens and the flash of warning lights was probably not what he had planned after getting stabbed by a robot.

Simmons and Nikolai were unaware with the awakening of their squadmate as he moved and winced in pain. The hole in his shoulder continued to bleed as he clenched his teeth. Grimacing, he took his hand and clamped down on the hole as he observed his surroundings.

After looking to his right he spotted Simmons and Nikolai sitting in transport chairs, the harnesses clamped down. Looking to his left he spotted an unresponsive Hastings, the dent in his helmet being a sure sign of the cause of his condition.

"Ugh, my body hurts…" Wulff mumbled as he stretched his legs and good arm.

"Doc, you finally awake?" Nikolai asked as Wulff turned his head to face the other two members of Hunter Squad.

Wulff nodded to Nikolai who, upon being satisfied with the answer turned back to Simmons. Wulff looked back to the rather poor looking interior of the transport as he started remembering the events that had transpired. He was about to speak to Simmons when the transport shook violently again, another burst of fire from the hostiles still hot on their tail.

Wulff looked out the side of the ship and saw the trees rapidly approaching, now only around 100 meters below them. The panic evident in his features as he pointed to the window.

"The forest!" Wulff yelled in a mix of panic and surprise as he tightened the harness as far as it could go.

Simmons and Nikolai doing the same as the pilot pulled up on the stick one last time, a fruitless attempt to use the shape of the transport to bleed off airspeed.

"Better hold on gentlemen! This is gonna hurt!" The pilot grunted through the speakers as the whole of Hunter Squad, minus an unconscious Hastings, held on for dear life as the sound of snapping trees met them.

Simmons took in one last gasp of air just before impact.

The transport shook violently as they were tossed around their seats. Simmons, Nikolai, and Wulff slightly regretted tightening their restraints all the way as they were now receiving some major whiplash in all their extremities.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the transport flipped and halted almost instantaneously. The rapid change in G-forces causing Simmons, Wulff, and Nikolai to join Hastings in a deep slumber.

 **A/N: Feel free to leave questions and thoughts in the review section or PM me on your thoughts!**

 **Thank's for being so supportive guys, myself and Lumox have just hit 2,600 views woohoo and 34 followers!**

 **You guys are amazing, and like I said, keep up the great support!**


	10. The Trees Are Red

**A/N: Well, here's chapter 10 take a minute and enjoy this chapter and all it's moderately different paced goodness.**

Hastings eyes shot open, his head still spinning as he let out a groan. Shaking his head once he looked around, observing the smoke-filled interior of the transport as he laid eyes on the rest of his squad. Reaching down, Hastings unclipped his harness and, with the fluidity and grace of a whale, fell to the ceiling of the transport.

"Ouch…" Came a gruff and muffled voice causing him to freeze.

He whipped around and looked for the source of the voice before scratching the back of his neck with his glove and letting out a confused grunt.

"The fuck was that…" Hastings froze again, whirling around before it struck him like a Shredder missile.

He had spoken… Hastings, the mute, had just spoken for the first time in as long as he could remember.

He pondered the words that just left his mouth, opening and closing his mouth behind his helm as he let out a satisfied smirk and moved to the three upside down and unconscious members of Hunter Squad.

"Time to get you guys down…" Hastings grunted out with his new found voice as he reached up and unhooked Simmons from his harness.

Simmons dropped from the seat into Hastings arms before being gently placed on the wall of the transport. Hastings grumbled as he moved onto the bleeding Wulff, a small puddle of blood had accumulated beneath him on the roof, now the floor, of the transport.

Hastings glanced at his HUD as the filters worked to remove the smoke and embers from the air that they were breathing. Hastings estimated that they would have somewhere around 12 minutes before the smoke overwhelmed his filters. Wulff on the other hand could wait a minute. The presence of dedicated filters on his helmet would give him a near infinite supply of air, however, his suit had been punctured and was allowing the toxic air to bypass his suit.

"Now, for you…" Hastings said under his breath as he moved under Wulff's seat.

Pressing the release, he waited for the harness to open. His arms resting on Wulff's shoulder and midsection he prepared for the drop. A second later, the harness clicked and Wulff stayed in place as Hastings gently lowered the wounded ally to the floor before moving onto Nikolai.

He looked at Nikolai for a minute before shrugging, pressing the release, and returning to Simmons and Wulff. As he arrived at Wulff and Simmons, the click and smack that followed elicited a brief smirk before kneeling down and accessing the medical bag at Wulff's side.

"They should be here somewhere…ah! Here they are!" Hastings grumbled as he pulled out three sticks of adrenaline, and one stick of morphine for Wulff.

Kneeling down by Simmons he slammed the adrenaline into his leg before moving onto Wulff, repeating the process with the morphine and adrenaline. After the two of them had been "treated", Hastings walked over to Nikolai. Nikolai was sprawled out on the floor and partially bent over as Hastings slammed a stick of Adrenaline into his arm.

'They should be up in a minute' Hastings thought as he walked over to the door.

He remembered the start of the fight on the ship before blacking out, those damn robots got the better of him because they surprised him.

Shrugging the thought away, he observed the cargo door, the emergency release looked destroyed and even if it was working would do close to nothing. He saw a small gap in the door and wedged his fingers into the gap.

Propping his feet on the handles jutting from the floor, he tested the give before pulling. Strained grunts echoed through the cabin as he clenched his teeth, the door only giving an inch as he let go, falling onto his back.

Then something caught his attention, sparks at the back of the craft from the electrics, and a slick and shiny liquid dripping from the ceiling, or what was once the floor.

It took only a second before Hastings went into a state of urgency. Whirling around he looked at the cockpit door and saw it slightly ajar and sparking. Looking back to the rest of Hunter Squad he quickly rushed over and pulled them towards the cockpit door and as far from the jet fuel as he could.

Nodding, he turned around and started to force the door open. This time, his strength more than enough to open the moderately broken door. Climbing up and over the ledge caused by the inverted craft he slowly walked to the front of the craft.

"The Pilots..." Hastings mumbled as he worked his way along the ceiling and towards the cockpit, debris and smashed glass having made it back to the door he feared the worst.

The smashed in door did little more than reinforce his worries for the pilots of the craft. Stepping onto the ceiling of the cockpit he was met with two bodies, belonging to the Pilot and the Co-pilot. Unmoving and bloodied to almost impossible levels. The Pilot had a large piece of the frontal canopy in his chest, his arms hanging above him, blood still flowing down them and to the ground.

The Co-Pilot was no better, a piece of the metal canopy structure imbedded through his leg and his right arm. While his right arm was pinned to his waist his left arm was dangling free like the Pilot.

Looking down, Hastings noticed that the floor was slick with blood and sharp shards of reinforced glass that was once the canopy of the transport.

"Poor souls." Hastings said, sadness prevalent in his voice, as he shook his head, now was not a time for mourning.

Looking to the front of the cockpit, trying his best to ignore the hanging corpses, he spotted the completely shattered canopy and noticed it was not buried in the ground. Rushing back into the cargo hold he started dragging Hunter Squad, one by one, to the smashed canopy.

The first was Simmons, Crawling through the opening he reached back and grabbed Simmons, pulling him through the glass and out onto the slightly burnt ground. Nodding, he reached back in and grabbed Wulff, pulling him through the glass and dirt before depositing him next to Simmons.

Hasting grunted as he pulled the last member through. Nikolai had started to grumble as he was bumped about over the dirt and debris. Hastings let out a tired sigh as he leaned against a nearby tree, the red leaves falling gently from their branches.

As he watched the leaves fall he remembered the pilots still in the transport. Pushing off his knee he rose before walking over to the transport and beginning the process of removing the mutilated bodies from their chairs.

After crawling back through the slippery and sharp shards of glass he began formulating just how he would go about removing the Pilot and Co-pilot from their chairs. The main problem arising from the two bodies being pinned to the seats by the debris.

Despite the dilemma, he had figured out how to jostle them free. Hastings gripped the shards of metal tightly and pulled, a sickening sucking sound made it's way through the cockpit as he tossed the scrap to the side. More blood flowed from the holes as he unbuckled them and gently lowered them to the ground.

Letting out a sigh he wiped the blood from his visor before crawling through the canopy. One on the other side he pulled both the bodies through, trails of blood painting red along the ground.

The two bodies lay under the tree, Hastings watching them with hard eyes as he heard mumbling coming from two of the other three members of Hunter Squad.

Looking over his shoulder, the sun had started to fade as clouds started to gather overhead. Hasting grumbled as he rose from his crouch and walked over to Simmons and Nikolai.

"God Damn, my fucking head… wait… where's the transport?!" Simmons exclaimed, coming to his senses as he propped himself up, a dull pain flowing through his body.

"Oh sweet Jesus…my neck is killing me." Nikolai mumbled as he rolled onto his side before entering a kneeling position.

The two of them looked around and spotted the transport flipped over a few meters from them. They then turned their heads and looked towards the lone Hastings, the blank look on his helmet conveying no emotion as their gaze drifted to behind him and onto the bodies lying under the tree.

"They didn't make it…" Hastings said in a hushed tone as Nikolai and Simmons gave him an incredulous stare.

"We'll talk about your sudden ability to speak later… for now they need a burial." Simmons said in a somber tone as Nikolai and Hastings nodded.

As they walked to the two bodies, Nikolai held out one of his picks to Hasting who took it. Hastings gave a small nod to Nikolai as they proceeded to dig two makeshift graves at the base of the tree. Simmons watched them before walking over to the tree's trunk and pulling out his combat knife.

Hastings and Nikolai toiled away as the clouds grew dark and the telltale rumble echoed above them. Simmons worked away carving their names into the wood above the two pit's that would hold them.

A groan from behind them made them turn to see a mildly confused Wulff looking about before spotting the three of them, the two bodies, and the graves. Giving a slight nod he stood and took position next to them as he tended to the hole in his arm.

Nikolai nodded to Hastings as they exited the holes. Hastings handing the pick back to Nikolai as they walked towards the bodies of the Pilot and Co-pilot. Hastings and Nikolai gently lowered the Pilot into his grave before lowering the Co-Pilot into his.

It was a somber and silent moment as the boom of thunder above signaled the start of the impending rain. The droplets started pelting the ground and crude graves as Nikolai and Hastings filled in the holes, Simmons putting the finishing touches on the engraving.

They backed away from the two mounds of dirt and the tree that now existed as their tombstone, the large branches and leaves blocking most of the rain.

"Any words?" Simmons asked as he looked between the three other members of Hunter Squad.

"Well… in that case I'll say a few…" Simmons said as he stood between the two graves, Nikolai and Hastings saluting the graves.

The rain dripped down their armor, streams of red and black, oil and blood washed down their plates and kevlar as Simmons cleared his throat.

"Helldivers live as a testament to Super Earth and her mission to protect the galaxy from those who threaten it. However, without the many brave souls who follow us into battle, much of what we do would never be possible." Wulff and Nikolai nodded as Simmons continued.

"We die every day and, numb to fear, we charge headlong into battle knowing full well that those incapable of coming back are close behind us. Captain Johnathan Gates and Private Eric Briggs were among those who followed close behind us in our foolish endeavors." Simmons took a moment of silence for their names before taking another breath.

"They died, not in vain, but in doing what their duty called for. We as Helldivers know loss, we fail those we are meant to protect over and over again. Their pain and suffering is something that we must carry, a burden that we must endure… their memory, and their stories are now in our hands. We must do well to remember these two fine souls whom lost their lives in the fight to secure a better tomorrow. It is a constant reminder that Democracy is not without its price, and these two men paid it in full." Simmons finished as he turned on his heels and faced the two graves.

Standing ramrod-straight, he saluted their two fallen allies. The rain only getting heavier and heavier as they stood there for a minute, holding their salutes, before Simmons broke the still atmosphere with a shout.

"Hunter, let's move!" Came Simmons booming voice as he picked up his weapon and cast a final glance back at the tree before walking past the others.

Wulff, Nikolai, and Hastings doing the same as they cast one final look at the crude grave. Red leaves falling from the trees, shaken loose by the endless downpour of rain.

Hastings, Wulff and, Nikolai glanced at the engraving above the two graves. Masterfully etched into the thick bar were two saluting figures, the flag of Super Earth behind them. Despite the hasty work, Simmons had crafted an ornate border around the two figures. Branches leading off to surround the names of the two pilots. Nikolai gave an impressed smirk and Wulff let out a quiet huff. Hastings stayed silent and just nodded to the engraving, like it needed recognition, before following close behind Simmons.

Sure, Hunter had lost men before. Good men, brave men… it was almost hard for them to keep track of those who had died because of them. The mistakes of the few cost the lives of the many, at least that's what Simmons kept saying all those forgotten years ago when Hunter was first formed.

For now they had a more pressing matter…

"Where the hell are we?" Simmons asked, turning back to the rest of Hunter as they entered the thick forest of large, red-leafed trees.

The rest of Hunter replied with shrugs as Simmons let out a sigh of defeat. Lifting his head up he pushed out his chest, sucked in a breath of air and threw his knife in the air. Hunter watched as it twirled and twisted before it fell back to the forest floor. The knife embedded itself in the ground and tilted slightly to one side.

"This way." Simmons said in a flat tone as he pulled his knife out of the ground and faced the way the knife had tilted.

The rest of Hunter, lacking any better ideas, just shrugged their shoulders and followed closely behind. Unaware of the pair of eyes that followed them.

 **A/N: Oh boy, this chapter was a bit of a doosey to write. I am looking for any feedback you guys might have. Just let it on out and tell me what you think in the review section... or possibly pm me over a suggestion or question you have.**


	11. A Nested Acquaintance

**A/N: A week early and 5,000 words long? This cannot be, however it is because Lumox is a driving force. Also, uploads will now be on Saturdays instead of Thursdays, so there's that... anyways enjoy this chapter and write a review on something you would want to see next time!**

Nikolai stifled a yawn as he rubbed the back of his helmet. Stopping for a minute, he readjusted his Stalwart and looked around at the towering oak trees. It had been a few days from their crash and now they were running out of food rations, energy and ammo thanks to the Grimm in the area.

"Great, just great… we go from a blood red forest to an oak forest?!" Wulff complained as he threw his hand out, his rifle dangling from its sling around his neck.

"Just shut it Doc, the knife… does not lie!" Simmons said, pointing to the knife on his chest with his thumb.

"That stupid knife has been leading us in the wrong direction for the past few days! Isn't Map supposed to be the navigator?" Wulff questioned as the rest of Hunter turned to him.

"Yes, thank you Wulff!" Nikolai blurted out from his position at the back of the line.

"He would be, if his radio hadn't been messed up by the crash." Simmons stated as he continued following the direction the knife had given him.

Nikolai looked at the radio on his back. The radio had been acting up since the crash and was currently refusing to connect to SOD in orbit. Nikolai gave it a few smacks before cursing under his breath. Wulff went over and gave him a quick pat on the back along with a glance of understanding. Wulff removed his hand from Nikolai's back and followed behind Hastings. Nikolai let out a sigh of defeat as he continued to follow them.

The crack of several branched alerted Nikolai to movement to his rear.

"Show yourself!" Nikolai shouted out as he whipped around to face the sudden noise.

His sudden display of danger caused Hastings, Wulff, and Simmons to turn around. Weapons raised and ready for a fight. Silence ensued as the three of them lowered their weapons as a crow quickly sped out of the tree and past them.

"Really, it was a fucking bird. Come on Map, stop dicking around!" Simmons yelled at Nikolai as they failed to notice a figure approaching from their rear, hands stretched out towards Simmons.

"I mean you… Major behind you!" Nikolai yelled out as he raised his weapon but it was too late.

The hands wrapped around Simon's neck and pulled him close as a long sword wrapped around the front of his neck. A sliced throat was nothing new to Simmons but it was most unenjoyable. Perhaps they would humor his captor.

"Drop your weapons… now." The voice was deep and gruff, commanding authority and respect.

Upon getting a better look, the three members of Hunter lowered their weapons slightly as they observed the man holding their leader. Short black hair and almost red eyes stared back at them. His eyes were piercing and looked as though they were studying every inch of the three before him.

Unbeknownst to the captor, the entirety of Hunter were having a nice conversation using their suits interior communications. Being in airtight and relatively well padded suits ment the Helldivers could have conversations within inches of a hostile and they would be none the wiser.

"Oh… so it was just a little crow! Just a little fucking crow that can become a human!" Nikolai was screaming as he started ranting while remaining perfectly still as to not telegraph their conversation.

"Bullshit Map, this guy wasn't the crow…Hastings, did you smack Map in the head?" Simmons asked Hastings who just replied with a grunt.

"Simmons, this world is bat shit crazy. We've seen bitches that throw fire, guys that can take bullets without body armor and pitch black beasts of destruction! I think a guy who can become a crow is child's play to this world!" Nikolai shot back as the man behind Simmons was starting to lose patience with the four of them.

"Hey," he started, "I have one of you hostage, so are you going to answer my question?!" The man sounded furious as he inched the giant blade closer and closer to Simmons throat.

"Oh, you were talking?" Wulff asked as he rubbed the back of his head, he too becoming oblivious to the man as he was listening to the yelling battle between Simmons and Nikolai.

Having stopped their bickering for now, Nikolai and Simmons were both fully focused on the matter at hand. A matter involving Simmons, a rather large blade, and a not-so-friendly hug from behind.

"So, what was your question?" A vein on the man's head nearly popped out of his skin as he took a deep breath at the level of sheer incompetence these people had at being in a hostage situation.

"Who the hell are you four?! That was my question!" The man stated as they continued to try his patience.

Silence reigned supreme in the forest as the five of them stood there silent. The man looking between the three of them, awaiting an answer. However, the answer came from the most unlikely one, and it wasn't really an answer.

"So what's your name?" Came the question, however, it wasn't from the captor.

Simmons sat there, awaiting an answer to his question as he turned his head slightly staring back at his captor. The man was grinding his teeth as he spoke through his anger.

"Qrow, I'm a Hunter." This caused the four of them to let out sounds of acknowledgement.

"In that case, we're on the same side!" Wulff stated as Qrow just raised an eyebrow.

"Yup, Hunters in the flesh." Simmons struggled against the man's grip, Qrow analyzing the four before him.

Qrow thought long and hard about the men in front of him and knew he would regret this later. He released the one in his arms, dropping to the forest floor and rubbing his neck as Qrow backed away to a safe distance.

"Thank you… Qrow was it? Yes, well in that case we shall be on our…" Simmons was interrupted by distant yelling and gunfire.

Hastings, Simmons, Nikolai, Wulff and Qrow all looked towards the sound as Hunter team readied their weapons and looked at Qrow.

"I'd love to ask you more about where you came from… but in the meantime it looks like someone needs some help.

"Looks that way too… we'll be close behind. Wulff, the good stuff...now." Simmons held out his hand as from his pocket Wulff pulled 4 sticks of purple liquid.

Qrow just raised his eyebrow, something he felt he'll be doing if he found himself around these guys more, as he watched the four of them stab the syringes into their thighs. The effects of whatever was in the tube were almost instantaneous as they started hopping in place and stretching before going straight into a flat out sprint.

"What the hell…" Qrow mumbled as they four men were out of sight.

'Almost as fast as my niece' Qrow thought as he started after them, his aura allowing him to barely catch up to the sprinting group.

Within a minute they were at the source of the yelling. In front of them stood what appeared to be a group of civilians frantically trying to fight off a horde of Beowolves.

"Map, Doc, you two get the left flank and cut off the advance. Hastings and I will attack from the right flank capturing the Beowolves in the crossfire." They nodded to Simmons as they split off, leaving Qrow to his own devices.

'These guys are pretty coordinated, like Atlas soldiers…' Qrow thought before jumping into the fray, his scythe deployed and slashing away at Grimm left and right.

"Keep pouring that scolding hot Liber-tea down on them lads!" Wulff shouted as he sprayed the wolves with his handheld flamethrower.

Wulff was unable to properly wield his rifle due to the wound in his shoulder and the lack of Angel to bring him back to 100 percent. Meanwhile, a few feet away, Nikolai was making himself pretty handy with his Stalwart in one hand and his pick in the other.

"To your right, look out!" Shouted one of the civilians over the dense gunfire as Nikolai turned his head and came face to face with one of the bear-like Ursa's.

"Shit…" Escaped his mouth before a large paw smashed into his chest denting his armor and cracking a few ribs.

Nikolai went flying back and skidding across the ground as the Ursa approached him. Nikolai looked up from the ground and saw the Ursa roar before lifting up it's paws and bringing them down. However, the impact never came as the Ursas head was removed from it's shoulders.

"That was a pretty hard hit, you must have a strong aura." Came Qrow's voice with a smirk as he twirled the rather large scythe, offering a hand to Nikolai.

Nikolai grasped his hand and grunted as the pieces of bone in his chest shifted around uncomfortably.

"Yeah… never been better." Came Nikolai's off-topic reply as he reloaded his Stalwart with a fresh magazine.

The Grimm were starting to thin as copious amounts of well-managed Democracy were dealt out. After another minute the Grimm had all but been eliminated leaving dozens of rapidly evaporating corpses strewn across the field.

The civilians had thanked the five of them before moving on towards their destination. They smiled and waved as Qrow waved back, the Helldivers not returning the gesture.

"Well, that was fun." Came Simmons yell across the field to both Qrow and the two Helldivers standing next to him.

"I'd say, that was some excellent shooting… not to mention Qrow over here with the save." Wulff said with a chuckle as he patted Qrow on the back.

His chuckle replaced only momentarily by a cough of pain from the hole in his shoulder being jostled around.

"It wasn't that bad, I coulda lived." Nikolai said with a smile.

"You idiot… that would've killed you like it did last time." Simmons said throwing his arms out as he referenced the time in Waterson.

"Killed?" Qrow said in a confused manner as Simmons started to take a tangente changing the topic.

"Oh, by the way… the names Simmons, this here is Hastings, Nikolai, and Wulff. Since we're all hunters we can call each other by our names." Simmons stated as he walked up to Qrow.

However, only a few seconds later, a turbine engine could be heard in the distance. This caused the four of them to look to Qrow as he pocketed a small device in his hand.

"Friends of yours?" Simmons said as his smile faded.

"My friend wanted to see you. Let's just say he's a little bit interested." Qrow said as he looked up to the sky, a strange metal vtol, similar in design to theirs, descended down into the field.

"I'm guessing you want us to get in?" Wulff questioned as he looked to Simmons.

Qrow nodded as Simmons shook his head, a look of both slight irritation and uneasiness crossed his face. Though he would want to go with Qrow, he knew that going with him would be a gamble. However, his stomach had other ideas.

"Sorry, but we got…" Simmons was interrupted as his stomach grumbled.

"Actually we're pretty hungry so if where you're goings got food we'll gladly accept." Qrow nodded as Simmons looked back to the other members of Hunter who all nodded in agreement.

After hopping on board, Nikolai removed the radio from his back and started to tinker with it. Pulling the cables and antenna apart, picking apart every piece that could be a problem.

"How long?" Simmons asked, leaning over his shoulder and looking at the opened up pack.

"Shouldn't take more than… there it is!" Nikolai shouted in triumph as the pack fuzzed to life.

Tuning the radio and giving it a little boost they were met with something they would have never wanted to hear. Something that made their blood run cold. Something that put the fear of god in their souls.

"Fredrikson… i swear to fucking God above and Super Earth as my witness in trial. If you don't get them on the line within the second I will tear your cock off and force you to eat it."

Yup… it was Kane. She could put the fear of God in anyones heart. Two occasions being the worst. When she was hungry, and when she was worried.

"Yes, right away… there! We have connection!" Fredrickson screamed in a mix of relief and triumph.

"Give me the mic! Simmons, Nikolai, Hastings… anyone!?" Wulff let out a sigh of defeat as he slumped in his seat, Qrow chuckling slightly.

It was Kane… a rather angry and now relieved Kane who had been on the verge of force feeding the communication officer his baby-maker.

"Yes Kane, this is Simmons, Hunter 1-1 reading you loud and clear." Simmons was cut off with a squeal of joy.

"Oh my God, you're alright… what about the others? We received a mayday from the pilots and didn't hear from you since. We thought you were permanently stranded… can't use dead since you'd already be back… but I knew you guys would be okay! I just knew you had to be..." Kane was ranting now, a worried and mumbled rant.

Qrow had raised his eyebrow for the umptenth time since entountering the four men, and this repetition of "Death" and "Back" in the same sentence was becoming a worrying one indeed.

"That's the thing, Briggs and Gates…. They didn't…" Simmons couldn't finish as he heard Kane talking off to the side.

"Briggs and Gates are KIA… Alright Medical has been informed. Those two brave souls." Kane said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Anyways, over the past few days we've finished up repairs and another two Transports have been fixed. Send us your coordinates and we'll have it down in no time." The presence of silence on the other end worried Kane as she waited for an answer.

Hunter on the other hand, didn't want to tell Kane that they were on an airship with a man named Qrow headed towards a friend of his.

"you see here Kane…" Hastings started in a thick scottish accent but was quickly interrupted by Kane.

"Who the hell was that?" Kane questioned in mild confusion as only Helldivers could access the com network.

"Hastings." Came Hastings' thick scottish brogue as Kane returned to silence.

"Well shit, the thing can speak." Kane said, slightly dumbfounded.

"Yeah, yeah" Came the mildly irritated Hastings. "as I was saying… We found this rather nice fellow named Qrow and we're headed to his friends place." Hastings finished he heard the other three members of Hunter slowly turned their heads towards Hastings.

"What… the… fuck." Simmons simply said as he stared at Hastings.

"I liked you better when you were silent." Wulff said with a sigh.

"I liked you better with rebar in your fucking head" came Hastings' instant reply.

"We're dead… game over man… game over." Nikolai mumbled as Hastings just raised an eyebrow, then he was alerted as to why.

"Maybe she's still processing his ability to talk?" Nikolai whispered as he leaned over to Simmons and Wulff.

Despite the appearance of Hastings ability to vocalize, Kane was much more occupied with what Hastings had just said a few seconds before.

"Oh…. I see… well then..." Kane started as the members of Hunter squad cursed under their breaths as Hastings speaking hadn't derailed her train of thought completely.

"Not good, not good at all." Simmons said as he recognized that tone.

"Someone from there, a native, is taking you to a friends house for a playdate?" Kane said in an eerily calm voice.

"Oh here she goes…" Nikolai said as he stood up from the radio and threw his arms up, or at least tried to as a sharp piercing pain shot through his chest causing him to crumple to the floor.

"Kane, not now please…" Simmons pleaded for forgiveness as Wulff spoke, turning his head as he noticed the heap that used to be Nikolai.

"We're hungry, he said they had foo…" A hand clamped down on Wulffs neck with such speed a normal human would have broken their neck, and Wulff soon wished it had ended his life then and there.

"Oh, no no no, Mr. Arthur," First names, this is bad, "did I hear Mr. Wulff correctly? Because you were FUCKING HUNGRY! You decided to hop on a magic carpet ride because your stomach replaced you dick in mental priority!" Kane went silent as she took in a deep breath, and let out a deep sigh.

"Alright… alright! Fine, Fuck it! Have fun at his nest, I guess you could wing it out there and fly on up whenever you get the chance. You hear me Qrow, you shit! I don't want my boys hurt or I will END Y…" Nikolai turned off the radio as they all turned to the now silent Qrow sitting across the hold from them.

It was dead silent in the hold as the entirety of Hunter team looked at Qrow before noticing something. A smile was creeping across his mouth as he started to chuckle.

"Uhm, did Kane break Qrow?" Wulff asked as they all shrugged, minus the mildly crumpled up Nikolai.

"No, it's not that," Qrow started as he laughed, "It's just that she reminds me of a certain white haired someone. I'm used to it… and the puns, the puns are nothing new, one of my nieces is the same way." Qrow finished as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Also… is your friend okay?" Qrow questioned as he looked at the pile-of-a-man that made itself known in the center of the cargo hold.

"Aw shit… Dammit Map, you just had to go and rupture your lungs." Wulff mumbled with a tired sigh following close behind, as Hastings nudged Nikolai with his foot.

"Hastings! Don't nudge the injured." Wulff said in mild irritation as he pulled out his medical kit.

"Okay" Replied Hastings crouched down and began to prod him with his finger

"No! Bad…" Simmons scolded as he came forward, pulling Hastings away from the mortally wounded Nikolai.

"But he Looks like a potato" Whined Hastings

"God Dammit…" Simmons sighed as Hastings continued to point at the actually rather potato like body of Nikolai.

"He's not wrong…" Wulff said over his shoulder as he uncrumpled the body of Nikolai, laying him flat on the floor of the transport.

Qrow, unbeknownst to the Helldivers, sat there mildly confused at how these four had become Hunters with their complete disregard for their allies state. Qrow just let out a sigh and pulled a metal flask from his pocket. Uncapping the flask he raised it to his mouth before looking down and seeing a black visor an inch from his face.

"Cross…" Came a dull voice from inside the helmet.

"Uhmm… personal space buddy." Qrow said in mild discomfort as he put his hand on the man's shoulder and pushed before realizing the man wasn't budging.

"Crooked…" He spoke again, this time reaching for the necklace that Qrow wore around his neck.

"Uhp, nuh uh buddy… my necklace, my positioning." Qrow said as he scooted to the side.

Hastings fell forward onto the bench, his eyes still locked on the crooked piece of metal hanging from his neck.

"Soon…" Mumbled Hastings as he creeped back over to the other three including the now un-potatoed Nikolai.

Nikolai had started to stand, the medical gel slowly setting in his chest cavity as he stretched his arms. Realizing that the pain was gone he looked down at the hole through his plating where Wulff had injected the gel.

"Well, that's not safe." Nikolai quipped as he poked his finger through the hole in the chestplate.

"Oh shut up… you've had worse." Simmons stated as he sat down, his arms folded across his chest.

"But a bullet could go through this!" Nikolai whined as he pointed to the inch-wide hole with both hands.

"Like some crazy accurate asshole or something could kill me through this!" Nikolai continued to whine as Hastings slowly rose up behind him.

Quick as a flash, Hastings had his arms around his neck as put Nikolai in a headlock.

"I swear to Democracy, if you don't shut your fucking mouth hole I will, in your greatest time of need, kneecap you and break both your arms." Hastings growled as Nikolai went dead silent, although the silence was probably from the headlock.

Hastings released Nikolai, who upon hitting the ground, entered a second phase of potato state. However, he was still conscious and stared at Hastings who returned his stare with an I-got-my-eyes-on-you gesture. Nikolai turned his head to Simmons and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Is it me or is Hastings like really fucking scary?" Nikolai asked, Wulff and Simmons looking at him.

"Well, it's not that he's scarier, he's always been like this, it's just that now the psychotic mute is no longer mute." Wulff said with a shrug.

"I don't see what's so bad…" Simmons stated as he leaned back and closed his eyes just wanting this trip to end.

After a moment of awkward silence Nikolai had deemed it safe to unpotato himself and take a seat. Wulff, Nikolai, and Simmons were seated at the rear of the craft when they realized that Hastings was nowhere near them.

"Where the hell is Hastings?" Nikolai asked, a mixture of concern and wonder at Hastings' ability to disappear.

"There…" Simmons pointed across the hold towards the far seat where Qrow and a man, presumably a soldier, were seated.

Lo and behold, there was Hastings. Seated firmly between the two of them. The soldier looked quite uncomfortable as Hastings was nearly pushing him off the seat. However, Qrow looked the most displeased of the two as he was constantly fending off attempts to grab his cross.

"Hey, Sammy, or whatever your name is… can you tell your squaddie to give me some space?" Qrow sounded almost on the verge of punching someone in the face.

"I could tell him… but, it probably isn't gonna make any noticeable difference." Simmons said with a smirk under his helmet and a shrug.

Qrow let out a long sigh as he looked past Hastings to the yellow armored soldier who had now moved to a different row of seats. Qrow threw him a glare that screamed "Really?", to which the Soldier replied with a "Not my job" shrug.

Hastings was now in a proper seat, and could now focus on his offense and not falling between the gap in the seats. Qrow was nearly at the end of his patience when the pilot came over the intercom.

"Attention passengers, we are arriving at Beacon Academy." The pilot cut communication as the side doors of the transport.

"That's a stupid name…" Simmons mumbled as Qrow whipped his head around and stood, ignoring Hastings who had missed and ended up on the floor.

"Beacon Academy is one of the most prestigious and well know combat academies in the world." Qrow stated matter-of-factly.

"Still sounds stupid. It's not free enough... " Simmons grumbled as he pouted.

"The hell does that mean?" Qrow asked, confusion laced in his voice as he sidestepped another one of Hastings' attacks.

"Free, like Freedom Academy or Academy of Democracy… oh what about The Liberated Democracy of Free Learning." Nikolai was rattling off names as the other three watched, nodding their heads in agreement.

As the transport neared the landing pad, Qrow and the soldier stood on the edge, holding onto the railing above the door. As the transport landed, the soldier looked to Qrow and leaned over.

"These guys are a bunch of idiots, why does Ozpin even want them?" He asked in a hushed whisper, the four of them still agreeing upon freedom filled names for the academy.

"I dunno, but these hunters are something… maybe they were…" Qrow started as the soldier interrupted.

"Commies, yeah I was thinking that too… they sure as hell don't seem like they graduated top…" The soldier was cut off as his aura felt a presence behind him, a menacing presence.

The soldier soon found himself being thrown from the transport, a group of students waiting just off the landing pad got out of the way. The soldier looked up from the ground as 4 heavy thumps of boots rang out across the landing area. Hunter Squad stood a few meters from him, a variety of barrels, and one recoilless rifle, pointed in his direction.

"The FUCK did you say!" Came Simmons booming voice as he holstered his shotgun and pulled out his pistol, approaching the soldier who was in the process of figuratively shitting himself.

Simmons reached the soldier and grabbed him at the top of his vest, lifting him up with one hand as he jammed the pistol into his chest.

"What… the… FUCK… did you say?!" Simmons shouted into his face again, his helmet distorting his voice.

"Idiots?" The soldier said honestly as he raised his hands in surrender.

"No, the other thing word… the… the C word." Simmons said as it rolled off his tongue almost leaving a bad taste.

"C… Commie." The soldier replied with a confused tone as the mother of all pistol whips was delivered to his abdomen.

Despite his aura, the air was forced from his lungs as he coughed, struggling to get air back into them. People in the crowd were whispering and some let out surprised gasps.

"You mother fucking piece of shit… Com…" Simmons visibly quaked and almost gagged as he swallowed, "Comm… un… ism Is a plague and a fucking curse on humanity! You dare make me say that word in front of my men! You… YOU sick son of a bitch." Simmons screamed in his face as he dropped the soldier who fell to his knees, gasping for much needed oxygen.

"Your kind must be cleansed." Simmons said in a monotone as he raised his pistol.

"W-what's communism?" The soldier questioned, his voice making it clear he was on the verge of tears.

Simmons dropped his weapon, as did the rest of Hunter Squad as they looked at each other. Simmons looking to Wulff who shrugged and then looked to Nikolai who returned with an equally confused shrug. Simmons then returned to looking at the man and knelt down infront of him, ignoring the small crowd of presumably Beacon Academy students surrounding them.

"What's a Com…" He paused before taking a breath before continuing with a shiver, "Commie to you?" Simmons asked, his voice now calm.

"A Communications graduate… what the hell else would it mean?!" He replied, a hint of anger making itself ever more present.

"Oh... pardon us." Simmons said with a sigh as he holstered his weapon, the rest of Hunter following suit as they put their weapons away completely.

The complete 180 degree turn freaked out not just the soldier, but Qrow as well who had been watching, dumbfounded, at the event that unfolded before him. Shaking himself back to reality Qrow stepped out of Bullhead and onto pad, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose, wondering if he was actually up for Ozpin's task of looking after these men.

"Now that that's over," Qrow started as he went over to the soldier and helped him up, "My friend is waiting for us…" Qrow was silenced as a pair of heels could be heard clicking along the ground behind him, a single thought making it's way into his mind.

'Oh Dust no, please not now' Qrow mentally pleaded as he looked over his shoulder towards the tall blond who had just made her way through the small crowd of students.

"Students! Please return to your classes. As I remember it, classes were scheduled to start in 4 minutes." The blonde said adjusting her glasses as the students quickly dispersed.

The students had all but vanished in a cloud of dust as the blond let out a long sigh. She took in a breath before turning back to the sight infront of her. A soldier being helped up by Qrow and the four men that she had heard about earlier.

"I presume your four were brought here by Qrow?" The blond questioned as she took out a device similar to the Helldivers Datapad.

She pressed a few buttons and typed a few things into the screen before looking back up to the four men. She raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for a response. After a few seconds, and having received no response, she decided they were ready to get down to business.

"Well, if you four are ready we can head to the office…" The blond was cut off as Nikolai spoke out.

"Who are you?" He asked quite forcefully, causing the blond to give him an incredulous look.

"I am Glynda Goodwitch, and you?" She replied, still willing to let these men redeem themselves from their first impressions.

"Hungry, now where's the damn food." Hastings said as he adjusted Celia on his back.

"Wha…" was all Glynda managed to get out before being cut off again.

"Yeah… what's the big deal, we were promised sustenance." Wulff stated as he pointed to Qrow who let go of the soldier who started to wobble on his feet before catching himself.

Glynda looked to Qrow with her normally emotionless face showing a hint of confusion. Qrow just shrugged as he turned back to the Helldivers.

"Fine," Glynda sighed as she turned back to the four of them, "We will stop briefly at the cafeteria to allow the four of you a quick snack." Glynda finished as she turned around, looking over he shoulder to make sure they were getting ready to follow her.

"Alright, then let's move quickly. You have already wasted enough time as is." Glynda mumbled as she started towards the main complex of Beacon.

The four Helldivers looked about, admiring the somewhat dated architecture of the school. As they passed by the various buildings and students that populated them. It was at this moment that Wulff decided to speak up.

"So, what is this place again?" He questioned as Glynda faltered slightly before continuing.

"Beacon Academy, a combat school that prides itself in training the most prominent Hunters and Huntresses the world of Remnant has ever seen. In addition..." Glynda continued off on a long explanation but Wulff had quickly lost interest, resorting to turning to Simmons.

"So where the hell's the mess hall…" Simmons started, "Do they serve alcohol?" Nikolai added on as Glynda stopped mid sentence, looking back to the helmeted men.

"It is the way we are headed, and no… we do not serve alcoholic beverages on campus." Glynda stated in a mildly irritated voice.

"Oh, well thank god I brought my own." Nikolai stated as he pulled a flask out of seemingly nowhere.

"What… where…" Glynda stuttered as she watched the man lift his visor slightly and down the contents of the flask.

Nikolai wiped his mouth with the back of his glove before storing the flask, Qrow giving him a silent nod of approval.

"There will be NO alcohol on campus!" Glynda snapped, her patience stretching thin.

"Well there isn't anymore." Nikolai retorted with a grin

Glynda let out a rather loud sigh as she just straightened her back and turned on her heel. Ignoring the smirking duo of Qrow and Nikolai who just looked at each other, a newfound respect between them.

After another minute a rather large hall with sets of large wooden double doors lining its sides. Glynda stopped in front of one pair of double doors before turning to the four visitors.

"You have three minutes to grab a small snack before we head to the main office complex. Please be quick and do not cause a disturbance." Glynda stated as she gripped the riding crop at her side tightly.

"Don't worry Miss Goodwitch, we'll be as proper as…." Simmons froze mid sentence as he snapped his head from side to side rather quickly.

"Simmons, what's wrong… shit…" Wulff said as he too noticed what was wrong with this picture.

"How the hell does he do this shit! Like he was here two fucking seconds ago!" Nikolai exclaimed as he threw his arms up and slumped against a nearby wall.

"Where the FUCK did Hastings go!" Simmons yelled in defeat as he fell to his knees, the door to the cafeteria just closing.

 **A/N: Oh dear... Hastings has run off... and is not going to follow the wise words of Glynda**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter... don't forget to leaved a like a follow and a review...**

 **For Super Earth and Democracy!**


	12. A Fluffle of Problems

**A/N: So here's the next chapter... it's a little... short  
But hey, that's what happens when you have exams for two weeks!  
Well, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**

Glynda looked on at the three grown men who were in the process of actively losing their shit. Qrow also looked on in mild shock, shaking his head as he looked at Nikolai, the previous holder of his respect who was slumped against the wall rocking back and forth.

Wulff had resorted to pacing as he held his head in his hands, muffled screaming could be heard from his helmet despite his speakers being disabled.

Simmons was just kneeling there, seemingly paralyzed as he stared off into the distance, his arms limp at his side.

Glynda watched for another few seconds as her grip tightened on her riding crop. She bit her tongue, unable to cope with such childlike behavior. And here she thought team Cardinal was a handful.

"Enough!" Glynda yelled, her patience wearing thin.

The three of them stopped their antics and snapped their heads towards her. Glynda snapped her crop against the wall resulting in an echoing crack. Now that she had their attention she decided she would speak up.

"Now…. where is your friend?" Glynda stated through clenched teeth, he riding crop bending in her hands.

In the fastest changed of emotional state ever recorded on Beacon property, the whole of Hunter stood up, ramrod straight, as Simmons clicked his heels.

"Hunter!" Simmons bellowed, Wulff and Nikolai saluting as Simmons nodded.

"Sir!" They quickly replied.

"New Mission, Detain Hastings and minimize casualties." Simmons gave his orders as the other two members of Hunter nodded in confirmation.

Glynda blinked at the sudden orders spat out by their team leader as, to Glynda's shock and dismay, pulled their weapons from their backs and stacked up on either side of the door.

"Wait!" Glynda ordered, her voice now more frantic and pleading that commanding.

However this order was unheeded as Nikolai and Wulff looked to Simmons and gave a curt nod. Simmons held up his hand in a fist and pulled down.

Nikolai smirked under his opaque black visor as he went to the middle of the door and grabbed the door handle gracefully before gently pulling the door open, Wulff and Simmons moving at a combat pace with their weapons raised as they entered Cafeteria.

They slightly lowered their weapons as they were met with hundreds of gazes all pointed in their direction. Ignoring them for now, Nikolai pulled a pair of binoculars from his hip as he scanned the room for any signs of Hastings.

Simmons pulled out his gps but found that it was ineffective inside. He let out a sigh of defeat as he spoke to the rest of them.

"You got visual?" Came Simmons distorted voice through the radios in their helmets.

"No.. no vis.. Wait! There he is!" Nikolai blurted out as he pointed across the massive open hall and past tables upon tables of students to a slight puff of a torn cape and glimpse of worn metal.

"Go, Go, Go, target in sight!" Simmons yelled as the head of Hastings came into view.

They sprinted, full-tilt, across the room. Chaos ensued as they knocked lunches off tables, pushed students into each other, and completely ruined students uniforms.

Nikolai had vaulted over six tables and even slid along the length of one by jumping onto a tray, his momentum carrying him to the other end. Simmons, on the other had, used his moderate agility to weave through gaps in tables and around students, albeit knocking over a few in the process. And then there was Wulff. Wulff just didn't give a shit as he bee-lined towards Hastings.

However, one thing was true for all of them. That neither a shredder mini-nuke or Bug swarm would stop them from achieving the end goal of reaching Hastings before he did something disruptive.

As they reached his position they stopped in their tracks, more specifically Simmons stopped in his tracks with Wulff smashing into his back and Nikolai into Wulffs back leading to a impromptu dog-pile.

They quickly untangled and looked up at what had caused Simmons to stop suddenly. And there, sitting before them, was a young female student. A pair of long rabbit ears sticking from her head.

But it was not her extra appendages that caught their attention, not at all, because sitting right next to her, hand hovering just inches from her ear, and mask only 2 inches from her face was a rather fixated Hastings.

"Hastings! Bad Hastings!" Simmons yelled as the two of them spun around.

The girl, with a look of relief on her features, and Hastings with palpable disappointment as he withdrew his hand and stood up from the table. The girl let out a nervous sigh as her ears dropped down from their alert position.

"We're sorry about that… he can be…" Simmons searched for the words as he tried to explain the incident to the bunny girl before them. "Quite stupid." Simmons finished as Hastings let out an annoyed grumble.

"Oh no, it's n-nothing really. It's not the first time." The girl said, an accent similar to how the inhabitants of Old-Australia used to speak.

"Not the first time someone's tried to grab your ear?" Simmons questioned as they looked at her.

"I'm Simmons by the way." He stated, holding a hand out.

The girl looked at his hand before taking it in hers. Simmons was surprised at the strength she exerted in the hand-shake. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they shake your hand, and this was no exception.

'She's a strong one… like really strong' Simmons thought as the girl pulled her hand away slowly, brushing a lock of hair behind her normal ears.

"My names, Velvet…" She said meekly as Simmons nodded, looking to Hastings with a gaze that said "Apologize".

However, as Hastings was about to deliver his apology, another voice called out.

"Hey look, the freaks made some friends!" The voice was almost instantly hate-able by the members of Hunter causing Hastings let out a low growl.

They all turned to the source of the voice. Piercing blue eyes, orange hair, and light skin. He appeared to be wearing a sort of plate armor which caused Nikolai to chuckle in his helmet. The other three boys flanking him looked like they were the kind of guys you'd run into in a dark alley after a night drinking on the outer colonies.

One had a light green Mohawk and green clothing with some armor strapped onto his shoulder. A glint of mischief in his blue eyes. The second one was covered in brown plate armor, had brown hair, and blue eyes. And lastly was another set of plate armor, blue eyes, and silver hair.

As Simmons observed them he noticed they all had blue eyes, might have just been a coincidence but he shrugged that off as he stepped forward from his squad.

"And looks like she made some idiots her friends too." The green themed one snickered as the brown one joined in.

Simmons wasn't one for instigating fights, unless those being instigated are from a terrorist organization, but being called an "idiot" was something he did not take lightly. He activated his external speakers as he gave them all a once-over.

As Simmons looked them up and down, Nikolai turned to Wulff and Hastings as he spoke through the radio.

"This is gonna be good." Nikolai stated with a giant shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

He turned around and noticed that the two groups speaking, and with no thanks to the added commotion from them literally sprinting through the cafeteria and ruining at least 6 dozen students lunches, had led to a rapidly growing crowd forming around them.

Nikolai, Hastings, and Wulff knew what was going to happen. Simmons was about to end them, with the possibility of shaming them so hard they could never set foot in public again.

 **A/N: That's it, yup, I told you it was short!  
Hopefully the next chapter will be longer.**

 **And it's a cutoff... *SIGH*... I hate myself sometimes**


	13. The Main Man

**A/N: Here it is folks... the chapter that I hope you've been waiting for..**

 **Tell me what you think**

Simmons carefully observed the four young boys standing in front of him. He tapped his finger against the side of his helmets chin before pointing to the one in bronze armor.

"You, Bronzy over there… what's your name!?" Simmons demanded as he kept his hand pointed at the bronze themed boy.

"Dove Bronzewing…" He stated proudly as Simmons started chuckling, Dove was slightly taken aback by his reaction.

"What's so funny!" Dove demanded as he took a step towards the chuckling Simmons.

"Oh, woo… haha, it's just that at this time I would expect you to be back at your nest. Maybe squawkin a bit n' flapping your feathers about." Doves face went slightly red with anger as he took a full step forward, his fist clenched as the assorted gasps from the crowd drew his attention slightly.

"Oh, looks like I rustled your feathers… maybe you should go find a bird bath and settle down." The assorted gasps from the crowd becoming assorted chuckles as Simmons looked around.

"Hey! No one talks about my teammate like that!" Came the yell from the boy who had called Velvet a freak.

Simmons turned his attention away from Dove as he laid eyes on the boy who had a cocky look plastered on his face. From just how he held himself, Simmons knew he was dealing with 100% whole-sale asshole.

"You're one of bird-boys friends? What's the name then? Come on, spit it out already!" Simmons taunted as he placed his hands on his hips.

Cardin Winchester, the biggest baddest bully in all of Beacon was quickly finding himself out-punched by a weirdo in a mask who had just barge into the cafeteria jumping all over the place.

"The Names Cardin, Cardin Winchester. Leader of team Cardinal. Who the hell do you think you are, barging in here and jumping all over the place like a bunch of rabbits." Cardin replied as Simmons smirked under his mask as he shifted his weight.

"Winchester huh? Well I think it'd be in your team's best interest to back off now. And find him a few worms, he looked a bit angry." Simmons said, pointing another finger at Dove who was almost fuming at Simmons insults.

"Why the hell do you keep coming back to me!?" Dove yelled, questioning Simmons constant onslaught.

"Because you're the only one who's name I know." Simmons stated as he pointed to the other two unnamed members of Team Cardinal.

"But you, you're a pretty big asshat yourself. Walking over with an opening impression equivalent to that of a Gorilla." Simmons spat out as Cardin sputtered a bit at the comparison.

"Hey but you're hanging out with that Faunus freak!" Cardin returned with a low blow to the girls race.

"Hey… we don't appreciate racists where we come from." Nikolai started as he pointed his finger at Cardin.

"We also don't like testosterone fill jockeys that think they're this shit just because they have friends that use their mothers crockery as armor." Simmons spat out with a smirk throwing his gaze to Dove's bronze armor.

"At least we don't hide our faces." Shot the one in green.

"Who the hell are you?!" Simon piped up as he subconsciously felt the rim of his helmet.

"Russel Thrush." He said, jamming his thumb towards his chest.

"Oh my fucking god, he's like a goddamn clown with that hair." Simmons half whispered half shouted over his shoulder.

The crowd started to laugh as Russel felt the small ridge of hair on his head. The laughter of the crowd only making it worse as he realized they were on a downhill battle.

"Hey, this is between you and me! Leave my teammates out of this." Cardin growled as locked his eyes to the blank visor across from him.

"Cardin, we're fine." The one dressed in silver quipped as Simmons turned to him, letting a snicker out from his helmet.

"What the hell's so funny?!" The silver one questioned as Simmons wiped an imaginary tear from his mask.

"Does, oh boy, does Glynda ever get complaints from the girls about a thief stealing their conditioner I mean jesus. How much do you use to get your hair that shiny?" Simmons finished as a few girls in the crowd snickered.

"Oh that's it, you and me, I challenge you to a…" Cardin started as a pair of highheels could be heard clicking across the cafeteria causing Cardin to stutter.

"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Simmons." Came the bone chilling call from just behind Hunter Squad.

Simmons turned around and was met with a rather angry looking Glynda. Looking around a bit more he noticed that the crowd that had once surrounded them had disappeared completely.

"Gentlemen…" Glynda stated through clenched teeth as she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

Simmons cursed under his breath, as what Cardin was going to say would have to wait. It looked like they had run out of time, and simultaneously failed to get any food in the process.

"Looks like I'll save this for another day…" Simmons said as he made an 'I've got my eyes on you' Gesture towards Cardin who just glared back.

"Gentlemen, we will be leaving now." Glynda ground out as she turned on her heels, Hunter Squad following suit.

Hastings gave a wave over his shoulder to the mildly confused and scared Velvet as they approached the door to leave. Nikolai had broken away, swiping a few random pieces of food off of the dry foods buffet as he rushed back to the squad.

"Here, take what you want." Nikolai said as he motioned to the food in his arms, an assortment of muffins and juice packs.

"Thank's Map." Simmons acknowledged his effort as he swiped a muffin from his arms.

Unlocking his helmet and lifting it partially as they left the cafeteria he took a bite of the muffin, lowering his helmet between bites. The flavor, in conjunction with the blood red color, was quite captivating.

"What are these muffins made from?" Simmons questioned as Nikolai and Wulff took a bite of theirs as well.

Glynda looked over her shoulder as she eyed the muffins they were all munching on, ignoring their effort to cover their faces. She took a deep breath as she turned and noticed Qrow joining them, a muffin in his hand as well.

"Those muffins are made with sap collected from the forest of Forever Falls. The red sap is quite sweet and considered a powerful ingredient in confectioneries." Glynda informed them, waving her riding crop around with precises flicks of her wrist.

They all nodded as Simmons popped the last piece in his mouth and snatched a juice pack from Nikolais hands. Pulling off the straw and jamming it into the packaging he took a sip. It was a strange flavor, nothing too dissimilar to apple juice from Super Earth.

Simmons looked to Nikolai who still had around 5 muffins in his arms and 3 juice packs. Wulff eyed the stash as well with a slight shake of his head. Qrow just chuckled as he eyed the Russian up and down, the clear air about him showing that the alcohol in his system was still kicking about.

"Say, how much can this guy drink before he loses it?" Qrow questioned as he pointed to Nikolai.

"Mr. Branwen!" Glynda shouted in surprise at the quite inappropriate question.

Several students cast their gaze at the six of them as they continued their trip towards the rather tall tower situated in the middle of the complex. As Glynda verbally beat down Qrow for his rather not school appropriate comment Simmons activated the internal comms and spoke.

"So, what do you guys think of this place?" Simmons question as he cast a glance over his shoulder to the other three members of Hunter.

"Security is loose… like really bloody loose." Wulff stated from his passive observations.

"This place looks like it has no guards, but then again everyone here is being trained to fight the enemies of humanity… so if ever there was a hornet's nest we shouldn't kick…" Nikolai faltered as Hastings spoke.

"We're walking on it." Hastings finished as the others nodded in agreement.

Suffice to say, Hunter has been in worse situations. Surrounded on all sides and ordered to hold at any cost. This place was massive compared to the space offered by those missions. At least they could run from their enemies here.

"At any rate, I've been bugging the place as we go." Nikolai stated motioning with his head to the small pack on his hip, several of the data bugs missing from their slots.

"Didn't even have to tell you…" Simmons said with a smirk as the small argument between Qrow and Glynda had ended.

"It was just an honest question. Come on!" Qrow exclaimed as Glynda let out a huff, returning to the front of the group as the doors to the tower came into view.

Glynda didn't say a word as the doors swung open before them as they approached. They entered that plain looking and rather chromed interior of the tower.

"I haven't seen this much chrome since our time on…" Nikolai was stopped with a swift elbow to his stomach causing him to double over in pain.

"What the FUCK!" He hissed out as Wulff just motioned to continue moving with the group.

"You goddamn idiot," Simmons hissed through the Squad communication as Nikolai finally realized his mistake. "You could have wasted all of our effort." Simmons continued to berate Nikolai as Qrow and Glynda continued on, oblivious to the bickering behind them.

The group stopped before a rather small elevator. The elevator opened up and two men were standing there. Hunter Squad collectively flinched as they looked at the men dressed identically to the two in the mountains.

"Something wrong?" Glynda questioned, again oblivious to the squads reaction to the two soldiers.

"No, shall we?" Simmons motioned to the elevator as Glynda nodded.

Hunter entered the elevator as Qrow and Glynda also squeezed in. The rather tight nature of the elevator led to a not-so-enjoyable ride to the top.

"You four have already shown that you are incapable of behaving yourselves. I would suggest you try your hardest to redeem yourselves." Glynda stated in a monotone as they elevator started to slow.

Wulff took a deep breath as the elevator stopped, turning to Nikolai who was looking at the 4 muffins he had left. The sadness of dropping one muffin still clinging to him as the doors opened.

"Brace yourselves men." Simmons ordered as they stepped out into one of the most needlessly complicated rooms they had ever set foot in.

The clockwork floor and ceiling was only emphasized by the lack of anything else in the room besides a clockwork desk and chair at the other end of the room. Behind the desk was a window overlooking the entire complex and the town across the water and over the cliff.

"Man, what a place you got here." Simmons voice out loud, his comment accentuated by a whistle from Wulff.

Glynda shot a glare over her shoulder as another voice stopped them in their tracks.

"I will take that as a compliment." The voice held an aura of power and certainty.

The four of them looked to the desk and realized that there was a man sitting in the chair. The figure turned around in the chair before standing up. He picked up the cane at his side and walked around the table. It was then that the whole of Hunter Squad realized something.

"These people are pretty damn tall." Came Nikolais sudden revelation at how tall these people actually were.

Glynda stood nearly a foot over Nikolais head and has an inch on Simmons, the tallest member of Hunter Squad. At the acknowledgement of this fact Hunter started to question how tall these people could actually be.

The man approached them, giving each one of them a lookover. A small smirk crossing his stony face for only a second as he looked at Nikolai's assortment of food.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin. You can simply call me Ozpin if you would like." The man gestured openly with his arms as Hunter squad stared back at him.

Simmons knew from the second he saw this man standing before him that they were going to be in for one hell of a talk.

 **A/N: Well here's the chapter, it's another short one but It gives me more space to write... well you'll see...**


	14. Visitation and Violation

**A/N: *Uploads chapter a week early* wow... this one flew together faster than a Hellpod on re-entry. Well hope you all enjoy this packed chapter!**

"Ozpin huh? Well the pleasure is mine." Simmons said, putting on his most charismatic tone and stretching his hand out.

However, Ozpin just turned around, completely ignoring his gesture as he returned to his desk. Simmons swallowed his pride and hid his irritation as he retracted his hand and put it to his side.

"You gentlemen are quite… eccentric, not exactly the figurehead of a friendly soldier. From nearly starting fights with my students to almost executing a soldier of Vale." Ozpin listed off as the three of them, minus Hastings, looked back on their actions.

"But I do say that your armor and weaponry designs are a bit… strange." Ozpin observed as he looked the four of them up and down again.

"Well, you see," Simmons started, thinking quickly, "We traveled far north from our small collection of towns in the far south of the continent. We were once separate tribes, but as we lived we realized that we would not survive against the Grimm for very long so we decided to band together, putting aside all differences and ideas, in favor of a collective Democracy." Simmons finished as he noticed Ozpin nodding his head slightly in faux acknowledgement.

'Shit, he sees right through it doesn't he.' Simmons thought in his head as he watched Ozpin's eyes, the brown windows that portrayed not even a single ounce of his emotions or thoughts.

However, Simmons knew the words of a historical figure, from where he hailed or what his motives were was something that was never taught, but the man once said "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." That quote was one that rang throughout the upper echelons of the SEG, and one that became commonplace in ensuring the freedom and peace of the citizens of Super Earth.

"We have traveled a long ways to arrive here, and in our travels we have decided to spread out way of thinking, our very way of life about. Take it as a sort of… how do I put this… gift." Simmons finished as Ozpin nodded again, this time more hesitantly as he started to think on Simmons words.

"That is truly a trek you four must have made, and I must give you some credit where it is due. Most notably in the defense of Waterson." Ozpin noted as he took a sip from the mug in his hand.

"Despite the valiant effort, your actions do trouble me… to be more specific, the seeding of several areas with monitoring devices." Nikolai almost flinched as he cast a glance down to the metal rack on his hip that housed the Super Earth Observation Instruments, commonplace amongst the citizens and planets of Super Earth.

Nikolai was about to speak but Simmons held his hand out in front of Nikolai, nodding to him. Nikolai nodded back as he returned to his resting stance. Simmons cleared his throat before speaking.

"Your observations are correct. However, we are just monitoring the status of recently visited locations. It is something that we frequently do in our home towns" Simmons stated as he clasped his hands behind his back, Ozpin raising one of his eyebrows slightly.

As they observed each other, Hastings had disappeared off to one of the mirrors that sat on the wall. He gazed into the mirror and looked at himself, ducking around a bit and turning a few times. His actions went unnoticed as Ozpin continued his talk with Simmons.

"I do not see why my establishment would need any study, nor the unrequested addition of illegal monitoring devices. I am sorry if this infringes on your customs, but it certainly infringes on our rights." Ozpin's patience was unrivaled in the Academy and this strange soldier was starting to wear him down.

"We were merely seeing to it that these locations were added to the list of places that have been designated secure and free." Simmons finished as he gestured with his hands to the complex around him.

"Free? Excuse me but In what fantasy do the words "Free" and "Monitoring" join each other in the same phrase. I do not mean to offend you, but what you see as free is clearly a violation of dozens of privacy and security laws around here." Came Glynda's blunt statement as Ozpin took another sip from his mug.

Simmons turned to Glynda and cocked his head slightly before speaking again, this time to both Glynda and Ozpin.

"In a government that cares very much about the well being of itself and it's people. In a Democracy, a free world order. A collection of the hearts and minds of one rightful leader." Simmons started to throw out a near perfect copy of the passage found on the first page of the Super Earth citizens handbook.

"That's absurd, no one government, let alone a Democratic one, should have that much power. What you are pushing for is a nearly tyrannical dictatorship." Glynda spoke out again as she was interrupted by a mirror across the room shattering.

Hunter and Ozpin turned to look at the disturbance as Hastings slowly looked to Glynda, his fist still planted an inch into the concrete wall. The three other members of Hunter looked back at Ozpin and Glynda.

"That was a very nice mirror." Ozpin sighed as Hastings pulled his fist from the wall.

"Like I said, we fight for the freedom of every man, woman, and child that shows their undying compassion and support for the government. Any settlement that has proved troublesome has been peacefully assimilated by trained units such as ours." Simmons spoke, raising his voice just slightly.

Glynda looked to Ozpin who gave her a curt nod as he sipped his mug and started pacing around. Simmons could tell he was taking his time to choose his words.

"You're all rather ancient in your ways. What you are saying is that anyone that troubles, or for that matter opposes your rules, is forced to submit." Ozpin stated bluntly as Glynda spoke out of turn.

"It's absurd! The last time a dictatorship…" Glynda was cut off as another crash echoed out across the room.

They all looked towards the noise as a potted plant and the wooden table it was situated on was turned to junk by Hastings fist. The water and soil making quite the muddy mess on the floor. Ozpin let out another sigh as Glynda tightened her grip on her riding crop.

"We are freedom fighters, seeking a united world under one flag! Your assumptions of our government being a dictatorship are worse than treason!" Simmons shouted as he took a step towards the duo, Qrow standing to the side observing them.

"You are a military police that keeps your people down, trapped under a probable minefield of laws and regulations. Not to mention the constant threat of military occupation at a second's notice." Glynda kept on pushing, and this time… she lit the fuse.

Simmons ground his teeth, he could sense the anger coming from the other three members of Hunter as he turned his head.

"We seek the liberation and unification of the world!" Wulff shouted from the back as they all focused on Ozpin and Glynda.

Unknown to the 6 of them, Qrow had decided that they would need a little more power to keep things under control. Reaching down his back, he found the small emergency scroll and contacted the school's security team. The elevator behind him activated quietly as the security team made it's way up.

"You are conquerors!" Glynda shot out quickly in an uncharacteristic raised tone.

"We are liberators!" Simmons yelled back in anger as he drew his pistol, the hammer back and ready to lodge a bullet in her skull, or at least her aura.

In a split second Ozpin's cane whizzed through the air and the pistol that was once in Simmons hand had neatly punched through the window across the room. Simmons face under his mask was a blank slate of surprise, fury, and hate. The ding of the elevator and the opening of the doors signalled the arrival of a small group of soldiers.

In the next second, everyone had their weapons drawn. Even the small group of soldiers who had just walked out of the elevator had their rifles drawn. Glynda had her riding crop drawn and ready while Qrow had his weapons completely unfolded and in it's scythe mode.

Simmons had backed up to his squad as he pulled his Breaker auto-shotgun off of his back and pulled the slide, chambering a shell.

"For a second I actually forgot he had a big Fuck Off Scythe." Simmons quipped as he fell into formation with the Squad.

"This is bullshit." Nikolai stated bluntly as he stepped on the muffins he dropped in favor of his Stalwart light machinegun.

"Yeah, we're pretty outnumbered right now, and seeing as they probably have that shield-ish thing around them this was never going to be a fair fight in the first place." Wulff stated, only confirming Nikolais statement.

It was a stalemate between the Helldiver, who were armed to the teeth, and the native inhabitants, who all seemed to have magical powers.

"Wait...LIFT-850." Simmons stated as they stared down the hostiles who were unaware of their conversation.

Wulff snapped his head towards Simmons, shock on his face at just the possibility of what Simmons wants to do rattling around in his head.

"Are you a fucking psycho, those things only go up. If we jump and tumble in the air, or activate at the wrong time we'll propel ourselves into the damn concrete." Wulff said in a matter of fact tone as Simmons just chuckled slightly and turned his head to face him.

"Fine, fuck this… I fucking hated how this was going anyways." Simmons and Wulff both pulled out a stratagen beacon and were met with the tense flinches of the people around them.

"Oh come on, we pull out a pair of balls and you get all jumpy, for most of ya it's probably not your first time." Nikolai stated in a mocking tone as Simmons and Wulff rolled the balls across the floor to the most vacant side of the room.

The beacons opened up and projected a laser straight up, the light burning a small hole through the roof as a direct contact with SOD is needed. The countdown started on all of their displays as they quickly rushed over to the beacons.

"Incoming!" Simmons yelled as they stopped short of the lights.

The lasers turned off as a loud whistle was heard. Hunter Squad crouched down and covered their heads as through the roof smashed two hellpods. Still red-hot and embedded in the tower. The tower shook as dust filled the room, most of the inhabitants coughing at the blast to powdered cement that entered their lungs.

The pods hissed open as two LIFT-850 jump packs rose from each of them. All members of Hunter squad grabbed a pack, Hastings taking off his recoilless rifle ammunition pouch and giving it a quick hug before slipping a grenade into it.

"Hastings, pull that pin, blow that wall, and let's blow this joint!" Simmons ordered as Wulff and Nikolai kept their weapons trained on the hostiles before them.

"Roger." Hastings mumbled as he pulled the pin on the grenade leaving them with 8 seconds.

Turning, Hastings raised Celia and fired at the nearest wall. The wall exploded outwards as the sudden and slight change in air pressure caused the dust to rapidly swirl around the room.

"Ok, step three!" Simmons yelled as he sprinted towards the hole in the tower.

Taking one final breath he found no more solid ground beneath him as he started his rapid descent. Turning in mid air a second later he spotted Hastings, Nikolai, and a rather petrified Wulff following close behind.

However what followed after them was something he wasn't expecting… the 30 pound rack of recoilless rifle rounds rocketing after them, a purple haze surround it.

"Oh son of a..." Simmons sighed in defeat as he trailed off, the grenade glowing a bright orange before detonating a dozen feet from them.

What some Helldivers fail to realize is the true volatility of a nearly full recoilless rifle rack. Some might think it'll go off like a small strip of firecrackers. But as Hastings knows, it goes off like a metric ton of TNT.

Hastings, the closest to the rack, simply sighed, closed his eyes, and tossed Celia away from him before being utterly vaporized. The red mist and pieces of metal from his armor were the only things that remained of him. Suffice to say, Hastings was probably the luckiest of them.

Wulff was unable to shout Hastings name as a piece of the rack, around 1 foot in length, proceeded to remove his head from his body leaving him rather speechless. The headless body spiralled as the helmet was carried of to god-knows-where by the shrapnel.

Nikolai was not as fortunate as Wulff was, seeing as his arm and leg were promptly shredded by the hail of shrapnel from the fragmentation warheads on the shells. His pack failed to activate as a few pieces of shrapnel found their way into it's inner workings. With the ground rapidly approaching, and his pack destroyed, Nikolai could only accept his fate as he looked to Simmons who had fared the best… if you could call it that.

Simmons, being the furthest from the blast only received a few pieces of shrapnel to his arms and torso with a few rather large pieces of storage rack in his abdomen. However, the blast had not tampered with his LIFT-850 as he activated it, slowing his descent to only 25 miles per hour.

"This is gonna screw me sideways." Simmons grunted as he clenched his teeth and waited for the impact.

A few seconds before he landed he heard the sickening crunch and smash of Wulff's body followed by the muffled screams of Nikolai who was by this point the embodiment of a Helldiver: Jello Edition, his bones powder.

He braced for impact as he collided with the ground, a loud snap echoing from out from his legs and hip. He collapsed to the ground grinding his teeth, a silent scream in his throat as he looked down and saw both his legs had been reduced to a broken mess.

"Oh son of a motherless whore! That hurts!" Simmons screamed out as he smashed his hands into the ground, unable to loosen them.

Looking up he was met with the disturbed gazes and shocked expressions of dozens of students. It was not so much a look of curiosity as it was a look that you gave towards a car accident, knowing you shouldn't stare but you can't look away. Looking over his shoulder, Simmons learned why.

A large bloody mess… in more ways than one. Nikolai's jello-ified body lay there, unmoving signaling that the blunt trauma on his head or through the shredding of his organs by his own bones was now dead. His suit doing well to keep his bodily fluids contained. Simmons turned his head to the blood pool and splatter that was Wulff's decapitated corpse, the head nowhere to be seen. The open top allowing blood to flow from the carotid arteries, his heart somehow still pumping. And… well… Hastings was gone, like really gone.

Simmons blinked hard and opened his eyes as he heard the loud whoosh of the automatic doors on Ozpin's tower followed by the gasp of the cause herself, Glynda. Simmons rolled over on his back, propping himself up on his elbows as he turned on his exterior speakers.

"A nice bloody mess you made us into, right?!" Simmons shouted over the dizzying pain.

"This was not supposed to happen." Glynda stated, a mix of emotions flowing through her as she gazed upon the disfigured carnage with horror in her eyes.

"Hey, well tough shit it happened. whoops, I know right?" Simmons stated in a monotone as he looked next to him and saw the pistol that Ozpin had used to hit a homerun out of his office with.

Simmons picked up the pistol and placed it to his head. Hower, as he pulled the trigger the pistol veered off course, the strange Goodwitch patented "Cocks-up-your-day" aura surrounding it.

"Oh come on, you're gonna make it this hard? Fine, I'll do it the hard way." Simmons grumbled as he unsheathed his knife.

Before anyone could act, the 12 inch serrated blade had pushed up through the underside of his skull and a dull thud of metal on bone signalled the impact of the blade with the top of his skull. His arm giving it one last twist before his body twitched and went limp.

Everyone stood there in silence, a mix of fear and disgust at the actions that had just been preformed mere feet from them. Qrow decided he would break the silence.

"What in…" As Qrow was about to speak their bodies started to evaporate… just like… a… Grimm.

Their bodies, clothing and blood all slowly starting to turn to mist until as all that was left was their equipment packs and weapons. Shock had replaced disgust as the students and teachers alike watched the last of the mist fade away into the air around them.

"This is quite a development. An event like this has never before been documented." Came the rapid speech of a certain green haired, coffee loving Professor.

"In this situation the worst thing we can do is panic and think about things irrationally." Professor Oobleck stated as he looked at the students, the shock still prevalent.

"Grimm… human Grimm?!" One student questioned as the professors realized the substantial meaning of this.

"This is not good... Grimm that can infiltrate Beacon academy can easily infiltrate any place they want in a heartbeat." Qrow stated bluntly as he went to pick up one of the packs that the soldiers had put on in the office.

He picked it up and found it to be quite a lot heavier than he anticipated. However, a second after he picked it up the pack began to beep, slowly at first and then faster. The rest of the packs joining in on the chorus as the weapons also beeped. Qrow had dropped the pack in an instant and retreated.

Glynda took only a second to know what it meant as she deployed a containment sphere around the entire zone. The solid tone from the devices was met with a large fireball and cloud of debris. Shrapnel ratting around the inside of the dome as she

The explosion that shook the ground beneath them was successfully contained and the danger was gone. But much like the danger, any evidence of the Helldivers ever being there was a burnt crater in the plaza, three holes in Ozpin's office, and a few broken pieces of furniture.

However, what they didn't notice was a certain discarded recoilless rifle perched in a tree only an arm's length away from the student dorms.

"So this is why the one named Simmons went to such lengths to kill himself." Glynda observed as she looked to Ozpin.

The other Professors that had arrived had been informed of the situation and proceeded to quell the unrest clearly brewing in the students minds. As the students dispersed Ozpin turned to Qrow and Glynda.

"Indeed it was, your statement seems the most logical. However, it seemed as though they wanted more than to just start a conflict." Ozpin took a sip from his mug as he finished.

"You couldn't possibly be saying that they wanted to be our friends, it is the Grimms soul purpose on this planet to annihilate all life, both human and faunus." Glynda stated the truth, and Ozpin nodded his head.

"True, but had they wanted to actually kill us they would have done so long before security had arrived to the tower." Ozpin stated with the slight tilt of his head and tap of his cane.

Glynda looked back on it, sure these things had attempted to injure them but only to such a limited extent that they could escape. Then she remembered their hesitation to fight, that they knew they were outmatched, even with their superior firepower… but why?

"Tell me Oz," Qrow started as he took out his flask and took a swig, "Did you feel anything when they entered the room? A single dash of an awkward energy, a wayward pinch of a soul perhaps?" Qrow finished as he spread his arms out and looked between the two of them.

It took Ozpin a second to realize what he was saying.

"We need to talk in private, come to my office Now... " Ozpin stated sternly as he hurried off to the tower.

Glynda looked to Qrow who replied with a smirk. It took them a minute to reach the top of the tower. Ozpin was seated at the table, his hands clasped under his chin as he supported his head. His stony facade now a mask of confusion and thought.

"So Oz, what did you deduce from that little statement?" Qrow stated with a blank expression.

"I felt nothing. Not a single iota of an Aura, let alone a soul. But they held back from attacking, they held back until they could escape." Ozpin stated as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, if they had an aura I'm sure that the fall would have hurt a lot, sure, but they wouldn't have been dead. An average Hunters aura can take falls like it's nothing. The last one alive, Simmons, his legs were destroyed from that last part of the fall despite his efforts to slow down." Qrow rattled off evidence of the supposed Grimm.

As Glynda and Ozpin picked apart the details they wondered one thing… Glynda expressing her thoughts.

"Hostile or not," Glynda started, "they are Grimm… which means their are others like them, planning to infiltrate our lines as we speak." Glynda finished in a solemn tone.

 **In Orbit**

Nikolai let out a loud sneeze. Grumbling in discomfort at his inability to scratch the flesh under his mask. Wulff leaned against the wall as he pulled out his PDA and checked a few schedules and menu items for the SOD mess hall.

"I know they're talking about us right now…" Nikolai mumbled as he looked to the cloning facility, a blue light pulsing from the tube.

"Yeah, seeing as though we tried to kill them. Oh look, Arthur finally died." Wulff sighed out as he put away his PDA.

The light pulsed one final time as a low hum and beep came from the tube. The tube opened as out stepped a rather pissed off Simmons.

"That's it... she can't be reasoned with, maybe that Ozpin guy but the Glynda lady… not a chance." Simmons grumbled as he cracked his neck and back.

Wulff looked up from the ground and waved his PDA around.

"They have reason to be afraid of us Arthur. I mean we do mimic the threat to their existence when we enter the cloning process." Wulff stated as he held his arms open, a slight shrug gracing his shoulders.

"I know Wulff…" Simmons sighed, "It's just that we were irrational… placing our pride in Super Earth over a serious conversation." Simmons finished as he sulked.

"Arthur, what you were doing was only what you've been trained to do… assert the will of Super Earth on the people. Their resistance was only as natural as our resistance to outside ideas." Nikolai suggested from the side as waved his hands about.

Simmons just let out a loud sigh as he sulked towards the door, a failed mission under his belt… all because of their irrational and patriotic thinking. He stopped as Nikolai's hand clamped down on his shoulder.

Casting his gaze over his shoulder he was met with Wulffs PDA in his face, a rather large piece of pie displayed on it.

"You know what day it is, don't you?" Wulff teased, a smug look on his face under his helmet as Simmons face started to light up.

"Lemon Meringue day… Fucking A!" Simmons yelled at the top of his lungs as he smacked the door panel hard enough to crack the screen.

In a flash the door opened and Simmons was off to secure an entire pie as part of his own liberation effort of the Lemon Meringue that the SOD had on board. When it came to that Pie Simmons ferocity nearly rivaled Hastings love for Celia.

"On the planet." Came Hastings small sigh as he looked out the nearby window at the planet below them.

His launcher was still in that complex… and he was going to get it whether the others were willing to help him or not.

And nothing was going to stop him.

 **A/N: With a special promise to CC-2224 for a rant of some sort I finally fit it in... and Hastings is going to do something stupid, trust me.**


	15. A Dormitory Decision

**A/N: So yeah, three weeks without a chapter and now this is up! Hope you guys enjoy this one.**

Shit had gone down… and Simmons knew it had when he suddenly found his slice of pie on the floor and tears in his eyes. Simmons ignored the flashing red lights and the piercing sirens as he continued to stare at the perfect piece that lay on the floor.

"But why?" He mumbled as Wulff and Nikolai shot up out of their seats, the alarms blaring through the mess hall.

"Warning, Unauthorized Hellpod launch sequence initiated." The female voice droned on in its usual monotone.

"Arthur, get your ass off the ground. No amount of pleading is going to bring back that pie." Wulff yelled out as he and Nikolai waited in the door for their leader.

Simmons nodded, standing quickly before heading towards his squad. A quick glance cast over his shoulder at the sad piece of pie on the floor. He whipped his head back around and noticed the security teams scrambling.

"What's the situation?" Simmons questions as Nikolai and Wulff replied with a shrug.

However, they soon got an answer when they rounded the corner heading towards the launch room and saw a dozen or so guards with bullets in their knees.

"Fucking hell hastings…" Simmons cursed as he realized what was truly going on.

And by the time he had realised what was going on, Hastings was already rocketing towards the planet's surface. Hell-bent on retrieving Celia from the school.

'Those bastards think they can take Celia from me! Those damn Hunters won't stand between her and I.' Hastings thought to himself as he clenched his fists, the pod nearing the ground rapidly.

Hastings gripped the handrails as the pod slammed into the forest just outside the complexes perimeter. Far enough that no one would have possibly been able to notice him.

The pod hissed open as the glow of dusk started creeping across the sky. Hastings may be rash, but he is tactically competent. He knew the sun would set in a matter of minutes and the cover of darkness would be over him by the time he reached the edge of the school grounds.

He moved quickly, not wanting to encounter the beasts that occupied the forest. He knew he could take them down without any issues, but the noise produced would be his true enemy.

A crack of twigs and a twist of his head he spotted the shadowy figure of a Beowolf scratching about. It posed him little threat at the moment so he decided to ignore it for the meantime.

'Later' Hastings noted in his head for he return to the forest with Celia.

"Now where is she…" Hastings mumbled as he pulled out his PDA and opened the aerial map of the complex, a small blip on the side of the complex where they expired letting him know Celia was still in one piece.

Hastings let out a rare sigh of relief as he put away the tablet, his greatest fear quelled for the moment. However, he felt something was off and pulled out the tablet again. Then he noticed what had bothered him, the blip was moving… someone had Celia!

He started to hyperventilate, the sheer thought of someone defiling her made his head churn with hate as his fingers threatened to bend the metal handle on his rifle. Realizing his slip from sanity he took a deep breath, and thought about it for a minute.

'The Bastards must be moving it somewhere, they'll have to stop eventually…. that's when I'll get it back. Right!' Hastings nodded as he went over his simple plan.

He nodded once more before getting up and moving towards the school. A few minutes later night had fallen. However, as he approached he stopped upon finding a rather intricate and large fence surrounding the forest side of the complex. Giving the tablet a once over and the blip still moving he shrugged before making a move.

Hastings gave it a once over from the forest and noticed no cameras or guards, and thinking the cost was clear he exited the brush, only to hear a cough a few feet from him. A better plan failing to come to his mind he dropped like a sack of bricks into the thick grass.

"Shit" Let his lips as he rolled back towards the forest, the sudden presence of a person was strange.

Turning his head towards the noise he saw the outline of a guard, like the ones from earlier, with a flashlight on his gun. He was sweeping the forest as another figure appeared from behind one of the large pillars.

"Hey Mickey," The guard started, "See anything worth shooting." He spoke, droning on a bit as he pulled out a cigarette and handed it towards Mickey.

"Nope… not a single damn thing tonight, Henderson. It's like the Grimm are cautious, scared even!" Mickey replied to Henderson as he took the cigarette from Henderson.

"Scared? You must be going crazy, you know Grimm don't run from anything. Light?" Mickey shrugged as he also waved off the offer of a lighter from Henderson, producing his own from his pocket.

"You never know…" Mickey mumbled as he took a drag on the cigarette.

There was a moment of silence as Hastings looked towards the fence, the opportunity presenting itself. Pulling himself out of the brush he took a small leap and grabbed onto the top of the fence. The feeling of success was quickly overpowered by one of piercing pain.

Hastings had failed to see the rows of razor wire that topped the fence and was now bleed profusely from his hands. Despite the pain he only let out a quiet grunt before landing softly on the other side. Producing a roll of bandages from his rear pouch.

'That's gonna stain' Hastings smirked at the lighthearted statement before tying the bandages off and leaving the guards to their late night talking. However, one thing caught Hastings attention.

"Yeah, but she said they didn't have Aura, not a single ounce… not even a soul!" Mickey exclaimed as he threw his arms out to emphasize his point.

"Bullshit… everyone has a soul." Henderson replied as he tapped the ash out of his cigarette.

"But what if… they weren't human, I mean they disappeared like the Grimm!" Mickey exclaimed again as he pointed back to the school.

Henderson shifted his balance as he threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the small guard shack.

"Where were you when this happened? Oh yeah, the guard house." Henderson stated in a monotone.

"But.." Mickey started but was cut off.

"I wasn't there… you weren't there… we don't know what happened. Seeing someone die can be traumatic, the kids were just exaggerating." Henderson finished with a puff as he turned back towards the guard house.

However, as he turned he smirked a bit before turning on his heel towards Mickey.

"Maybe they're ghosts of previous hunters. Ohhhh Ooooo. Hahaha!" Henderson chuckled as he turned back to the guard house, a slightly nervous and superstitious Mickey left behind him.

"Yeah, ha ha, really funny Henderson… you know how I hate that stuff." Mickey started with a bit of a pause.

"Oh what a wus! Get your act together, you're a trained soldier. Act your age." Henderson shot out to him as he opened the door to the house.

"But what are you doing." Henderson stopped as Mickey pointed to the guard house.

"Catching up on the Dust Bowl, I basically missed the entire fucking thing thanks to Ozpin and his containment rules." Henderson shouted, irritation prevalent in his voice.

"But what about me? I missed that too!" Henderson cut him off with a glare.

"You're the 20 year old recruit… and you get late night watch, I'm the 54 year old veteran… I get Dust Bowl time and a cold beer." Henderson slammed the door after him, leaving Mickey stuck in the pitch black with a dwindling cigarette in his mouth.

Hastings smiled a bit… just a bit, as he stood up and started his walk towards the main campus buildings. His rifle tucked under his arm as he moved down the hill towards the nearest entrance and what appeared to be a cluster of landing pads.

Nearing the landing pads, he realized that they jut out over the edge of the cliff that they had seen earlier and had a long way to fall if they were ever accidentally destabilized. But that was for another time.

Looking back to the PDA he saw that the blip was in a building a few hundred meters to his front. Nodding, he stood up and sprinted full tilt across the open courtyard. The wind whistling in his ears as he passed a cluster of cones wrapped in security tape.

Slowing only briefly he looked and realized it was where they had fallen, and this meant that Celia had fallen somewhere around here. Looking back to the PDA he saw the tracker for Celia was in a building to his right.

"Finally." Came the quiet grumble from his mouth as he started towards the building that resembled an apartment complex.

It wasn't hard to find the door and it was even easier to force the door open. Hastings gave a small chuckle as he entered the dorm as it was now known thanks to the sign out front.

Inside it was completely quiet, save a few snores here and there, but it would allow Hastings to hear anything a mile away. By this time the big picture of breaking into the school was starting to reveal itself to him, sort of paste itself together, and what Hastings knew was that this wasn't that good of an idea.

Only after emptying a few rounds into some unlucky kneecaps in low orbit, launching a Hellpod without authorization, breaking into the student dorms and subsequently Beacon did he actually stop to think for a second.

"Man, I should've secured a way out...But fuck that" Hastings mumbled as it hit him.

He was stuck on the planet until Simmons, who was undoubtedly sitting at the lunch table with full knowledge that he was on the planet eating his pie without a single fuck to give about him, decided to come down for him.

He stopping his hesitation as a shadow retracted to his right down the hallway. Raising his rifle quickly he took aim at the disturbance.

"That's strange." He grumbled as he lowered his rifle, unable to spot anything besides the darkness that enveloped the hallway.

Pulling out his PDA he noticed that the blip was in one of the rooms down the hallway, he just had to hope the tracker was still on his Celia. He took a breath as he hurried down the hall and leaned on the doorframe. His hand testing the knob to find… the door unlocked?

Hastings let out a surprised, yet content, grunt as he twisted the knob. The door pushed inwards quietly his pistol raised, a silent "thank you" to the janitor that kept the doors well oiled. Looking around the room with his nightvision he noticed three figures in the four beds.

'One unaccounted for… and what's with these bunks?' Hastings thought in his head as he also noticed that the bunks were just about the shoddiest things he had ever seen.

Two beds stacked using books and the other with an assortment of ropes and sheets. How the school, let alone Glynda from his recollection of her actions and philosophy, allowed this was beyond him. However, he just shrugged and scanned the room before his eyes rested upon her.

Celia. Hastings quickly walked over to the desk and placed his hands on the slightly scorched but still intact barrel and sight of the weapon. Hastings let out a deep sigh as he hoisted the launcher off the table and gave it a firm hug.

However, this was short lived as the lights in the room snapped on, causing Hastings to let out a muffled grunt of discomfort as the night vision burned his eyes. He quickly switched it off before whirling around to find not only three, but four girls standing between him and the door.

To Hastings it looked like they were standing in order based on ascending anger and descending curiosity.

'Roses?' Came Hastings simple thought as he looked at the furthest one to the left and the shortest. She looked like she was mildly upset over the fact that he had picked up Celia. The small sleep mask perched above her silver eyes. Black hair with slight red tint toward the tips which stood out in the light. Her tank top had a heart shaped beowolf head on it and a pair of white pajama pants with large roses dotting it.

'God damned, bitch alert' Hastings mentally noted as the next one over was like staring at a sheet of paper wearing a nightgown. The pure white skin and hair clashed with her piercing blue eyes. The scar that cut over her left eye was the only visible imperfection. She was slightly taller, if not as tall as the first girl. Besides that, her arms crossed over her chest and the rather harsh scowl on her face made Hastings feel a bit uncomfortable. Sort of reminding him of Kane after she was rudely woken up.

'Yellow, very yellow… and well endowed. Simmons would do something stupid' Was what went through Hastings head as he looked at the next girl. A mane of wavy yellow hair hung down to her waist as traces of smoke could be seen wafting up from the hair itself. This gave Hastings a slightly bad feeling as he looked at her eyes. Her eyes were a deep red and it made Hastings rethink, for only a millisecond, his decision to enter the room. She was also the tallest of the four standing a good few inches over Red and Bitchy.

Lastly came the raven haired, amber eyed girl. Her arms folded over her chest as well, but her amber eyes conveyed a feeling of hatred and pure disgust as she stared straight through Hastings helmet and into his very soul. Dark and Brooding was only slightly shorter than Tall and angry.

The silence was overpowering with Dark and Brooding casting a glance towards Red and Bitchy before looking at Tall and Angry, and then Red spoke.

"So…. uhm… what are you doing in our room?" Her slightly squeaky voice was reminiscent of a small childs, perhaps she was a child but Hastings had no ability to tell that sort of thing from looking at a person.

"Yeah, what the fu…" Tall and Angry was cut off by Red.

"Yang! Language…" Red scolded as Tall and angry, now Yang, readjusted herself.

"Sorry Rubes" Yang stated softly as she turned back, "Let me start again. As my sister asked, what the heck are you doing in our room?" Yang questioned in a softer tone as her eyes slowly turned to a lilac from their threatening blood red.

"Yeah, and who are you?" Hastings almost let out an audible groan of pain at the sheer level the the White ones voice annoyed him.

"And what were you doing stalking through the dorm hallways?" The Raven haired girl question in a soft voice, her shyness showing through as she looked away slightly.

Hastings could only observe the four of them and their vastly different emotions at their encounter. It was almost like himself and Hunter, each squad member their own drastic opposite and equal to one another.

"Names...…" Hastings squeezed out as he was still getting used to this whole talking thing.

Normally he had Simmons, Nikolai, or Wulff talk for him. However, they were nowhere to be seen and he had never expected this operation of his to become a diplomatic encounter.

As for his statement, the four girls looked at him cautiously, his deep and muffled voice causing them to look at one another before turning their attention back to him.

"Hello… random stranger who we found taking from our room! I am Ruby Rose, Hunter in Training and leader of team RWBY!" Ruby squealed in a slightly quiet voice as to not draw attention from the other dorms.

"These here are my friends and the members of Team RWBY." Ruby stated with a flourish as she pointed to the other three girls.

"Yang, my sister," Yang nodded and gave a small wave, her eyes now locked on the weapons strapped to Hastings.

"My partner and best friend ever! Weiss." Ruby finished estatically as Weiss just gave a curt nod and let out a sigh at the "Best Friend" part.

"And finally, we have my sisters partner and last member of Team RWBY, Blake!" Ruby drew out the end as she shook her hands at the still Doom-and-Gloom final member, Blake.

"That's everyone… so uhm, metal guy… what's your," Ruby hadn't finished as Hastings knew she would ask about his name.

"Hastings….." He answered in something that resembled a grunt as Ruby just stared at him with blank eyes. A look of disappointment on her face as she mumbled "oh" under her breath.

As they resumed the silence Hastings had only one thought in his mind… Escape.

Without uttering another sound Hastings coiled up his legs and bolted away from the door and team RWBY, the window drawing closer.

If he was correct he was only 3 stories up. Nothing too bad, he hoped.

Slinging Celia over his shoulder he crossed his arms in front of his head as he lept up and through the window. The shattering of the window was quite loud as glass sprayed out over the inky abyss below him.

Hastings braced as the wind whistled past his head, the ground now slightly visible through the dark of night. The first thing he noticed when he landed was the sudden shock up through his right leg as a muffled snap was heard.

"Fuck…" Hastings grunted as he pulled himself up from his crouched position, the shattered ankle causing him slight discomfort.

Now he just had to get out of the school, a school now completely awake thanks to alarms and a large shattered window.

 **A/N: Slightly short but still up there... let me know which character you guys like the most! Until next time.**


	16. An Escalated Encounter

**A/N: Here it is TopHatGuy... the portion that you wanted so much!  
In addition, I would like to thank Lumox for slave driving me to finish this chapter.**

Even if he had not found himself in this situation he would have still ignored the bone fragments sliding around in his ankle as he hobbled away from the dormitory.

Looking around a bit he spotted a small group of shrubs and threw himself into them as the sound of the alarm blaring in the background gave way to boots stomping across the stone floor.

"This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill. Intruder detected. All students assume hostile intention." Came the familiar monotone of Glynda over the school's loudspeakers.

Hastings just sighed as he listened to the two pairs of boots stomping around near his bush. As he formulated his next action the pair stopped their movement. Peaking out of the bushes Hastings spotted two guards similar to the ones by the fence. He noticed they were both looking away as a thought came to mind.

Slowly he crept from the bush, trying his hardest to not rustle the leaves, as he reached up and quickly wrapped his hands around the guard's neck and gave him a swift kick to the knee.

As he dropped down, the guard struggling for breath, he started creeping back into the bushes dragging the guard with him. As he pulled him in, the guard was quickly fading from lack of air as the struggling subsided.

Laying the guard down in the dirt next to him he paused, his eyes locking on the strange blue gun attached to the guards back. Giving it a good tug and twist he removed the weapon from its spot on the guards back. Unable to find a place on his own back he slid the weapon underneath his chest rig horizontally.

"Hey, you think this guy… Jones… Hey! Where the hell are you!?" Hastings snapped back to the other guard as the remaining guard raised his rifle.

Hastings shrugged as he crouched down and bolted forwards out of the bush, the guard's eyes widening slightly as Hasting plowed into him. The guards rifle discharged, sending a bolt of blue energy over Hastings' shoulder.

"Oh shit, get the fuck off me!" The guard grunted out as he deflected Hastings fist to the side.

The guard pulled his leg in and planted it on Hastings abdomen before kicking off sending Hastings back a foot and letting himself roll off to the side.

Hasting regained his footing and looked up to see the Guard with his rifle aimed at him from a crouch. Hastings thought quickly as he reached down and pulled out his pistol. Not having the luxury to take aim he fired from his hip in hopes of at least injuring the hostile.

The two shots rang out as the first one slammed into the guards aura, just barely touching him while the next one went unimpeded. The high-caliber round smashed through the guards knee cap with a sickening crunch and continued on, smashing into the concrete wall behind him.

"Ah… son of a" The guard didn't finish as Hastings closed the distance and delivered a swift kick to the side of the guards head, denting his metal helmet.

The guard slid to the ground as Hastings took a deep breath. However, his break was short lived as assorted yells and the sound of boots on stone could be heard from around the corner of the dormitory.

"Shit…" Hastings, knew he wasn't going to get far with a broken ankle and hiding was out of the option seeing as they would be there any second.

It looked like the only suitable option was going to be good old fashioned fisticuffs. Hastings didn't want to kill any of them, lest it further soil the Helldivers name. However, if they came out shooting he might as well join in too.

Clenching his fists and bringing them up he assumed a boxing stance. As the voices got closer he noticed a few familiar ones mixed in. A pained groan moving from the back of his throat to his mouth as he was now fully aware of who was leading this group.

"I heard them from over this way, hurry now." The voice made Hastings almost cringe, a voice so condescending it made him die a little on the inside.

"Goodwitch…" Hastings spat through clenched teeth as she rounded the corner, a squad of guards and a few students behind them.

Following up with the guards ran Qrow, his scythe folded up but a serious look replacing his smirk from earlier.

"Remember, the intruder could be related to the… ones…" Glynda stopped short as they all stopped dead in their tracks, Hastings maintaining his boxing stance as he stared them down.

Glynda would have been surprised by a repeat intruder similar to the ones from before. But this one looked exactly like one of them down to the same few scratches in the armor and tears that the cape had.

Despite the mild hesitation from the professional Huntress in front of them, the guards sprinted out towards him before stopping only a few feet further. They had just noticed the bloody pool around their fellow guard and the pair of feet sticking out of the bush to the right.

Hastings looked to the feet and gave a small sigh of defeat as he took a step towards the four guards. Without a second thought, the guards rushed him, this time, they appeared to only have small energy swords instead of rifles.

He only gave a small shrug as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, the first guard lunging forward. The guard quickly found himself lacking air as a knee rocketed into his chest and soon after darkness as an elbow cracked into the back of his head.

His body fell to the ground as the next two decided to wait for the third. However, Hastings decided that a three-on-one would be a bit difficult given his ankle. Charging forward he caught the guards off guard. Grabbing the first one's wrist he gave it a quick twist and dropped, bringing the inverted elbow down over his shoulder.

The scream of the guard overpowered the sound of snapping bone and a popped elbow joint as Hastings swept the guards legs out from under him and delivered a kick to the side of his head before focusing on the third guard.

"What the hell are you!" The guard yelled as he thrust the blade right at Hastings' heart, only to feel the blade stop.

Hastings regretted many things in his life, many, many things. Grabbing the blade to an energy sword was probably ranked in the twenties. The energy burnt but it didn't feel anywhere near as hot as the flame pistol that Wulff favored and more often than not killed him with.

The guard only replied with an open mouth as Hastings pushed his sword to the side and headbutted him, the metal on the guards helmet denting as he fell backward unconscious. The sound of another blade tearing through the air caused Hastings to duck, the blade sailing over his head as he spun around. The guard stood there for a minute before having Hastings deliver a neck cracking uppercut to his chin sending him flying backward a few feet.

The last guard was still charging as two cracks rang out and he quickly found himself with a shattered knee cap. Falling to the ground, his knee leaking blood, Hastings calmly walked over before kicking him in the side of the head. Letting out a sigh, Hastings looked to Qrow and Glynda who maintained their gaze for the whole of Hastings fight.

"We're taking you in." Came a familiar voice from behind the hesitant Goodwitch.

From behind her walked the Yellow-haired girl, Yang. However, her outfit was completely different, discarding her pajamas for something that seemed a bit more combat capable, however revealing it may be. This time, she had a pair of gauntlets on, a pair of yellow gauntlets with what looked like red shotgun shells feeding into them.

'Shotgun gauntlets?' Hastings thought as he readjusted his boxer stance, Yang doing the same.

"So, looks like you came here for another reason than just breaking into a girls dorm room." Yang quipped as she shifted her weight and started circling Hastings.

"Yang Xiao Long, do not engage him. He is very…" She was unable to finish as Yang launched herself at Hastings, her eyes lilac in color but burning with a visible joy.

Hastings was struggling to keep up with the blond bombshell as she delivered punch after punch, most of which Hastings deflected. Despite Hastings quick reflexes, the shotgun portion of her weapons was starting to take its toll as his armor started to dent and the paint started to flake.

After a few seconds, Hastings saw an opening. Faking a right hook he quickly closed the distance when she went to block and wrapped his arms around her waist. She struggled slightly but he shot his head up and caught her in the chin, dazing her. Sliding around to her back he locked his hands and heaved.

"Oh shit!" Yang blurted out as she felt the wind rush past her ears before the cracking of concrete.

Chunks of the pavement scattered around them as Hastings completed a flawless German Suplex with a broken ankle in standard Super Earth Wrestling format. With a triumphant grunt, he rolled to the side and threw his arms in the air.

Only a second later he found himself flying through the air and through a thin brick wall. He skidded along the tiled floor, pushing wooden chairs out of the way. Hastings groaned and coughed as he slowly stood up, his ankle giving one final crack before snapping completely to the side. Hastings let out a muffled grunt as he propped himself up on the desk.

However, his break was only temporary as his eyes widened and he pushed off of the desk as it was completely obliterated by a very angry Yang. Her eyes were blood red and her hair was literally on fire as Hasting backpedaled with one foot. He had died in many ways, by Hellpod, by Bug and Cyborg, even the Illuminate shield had gotten a piece of him… but this girl looked like she was going to fuck his shit up.

"A little Yangry are we?" Hastings grunted through his helmet as she paused slightly, a small smirk coming to her mouth.

Despite this she continued her assault, destroying anything Hastings could put between them. Hastings had to think of something… and all he had was that stupid rifle he picked up. Then it hit him like a Hellpod.

Instead of blocking his puffed out his chest and made sure the dust rifle was center stage for her punch. As if it was made to, a smoke cloud of dust erupted from the shattered weapon's cartridge filling the air between them with a thick cloud of dust.

Yang began to cough as Hastings started crawling on all fours before hopping up onto one foot and hopping towards the hole in the wall. As he got to the hole he felt a breeze and found himself staring at the sky, a mix of confusion and then realization on his face as he smacked into the ground.

He let out a groan as he went to turn over but found a heavy foot planted on his chest. Looking up he saw the smug face that belonged to Qrow staring right at him. He went to draw his pistol but found the holster empty, and he noticed his back was lighter… and Celia!

He looked around and saw the culprit, the young girl Ruby. She was holding every one of his weapons and looked happy as a clam.

'How did she…' Hastings wondered in more so confusion than rage as he soon found a boot planted firmly into the side of his head.

As darkness fell over him he heard the owner of the boot reply to his previous statement.

"Nice to make the acquaintance, you punster." Yang's voice slowly faded as he drifted off into a deep, captor induced sleep.

 **Some Time Later**

His eyes opened slowly as he started to gain his bearings on his current predicament, and from what he observed it was quite a bad one at that. The plain white walls all around him and a large transparent window to his front. He tried to move his hands but found them secured tightly to the chair.

"This isn't nice." Hastings mumbled as the speakers crackled to life and the man behind the window made himself known.

"It is not, no, but you have quite a few answers to quite a few questions." Ozpin stated as he took a sip from his mug.

"You are affiliated with those men from before, are you not?" Ozpin asked as he paced behind the window.

"Fuck you…" Hastings grunted as Ozpin shook his head slightly, a small frown on his face.

"This would be so much easier if you just cooperated with us." Ozpin pleaded for Hastings cooperation, but unlucky for Ozpin he had acquired the most uncooperative member of Hunter Squad.

"It would be so much easier if you just fuckin' let me go you fuckin' Bellend." Hastings spat out as he wobbled the chair back and forth with a small chuckle.

"He's clearly not sane." Came Glynda's voice from the speaker as she appeared on the other side of the glass.

"Yeah, for once I'll agree with Glynda… he's a total nut case." Came Qrow's voice as he too walked into view.

Hastings listened to them talk, then he realized that his radio was missing. The radio that was always attached to his back. Looking over he saw someone through the window messing with it, his weapons on the table next to it. And Celia, but for now she was untouched.

He let out a sigh of relief, and then the radio started to fuzz. Before long a familiar voice sounded through the radio.

"Hastings, I swear to fuck If you don't get your ass on the Comms if 2 minutes I will personally ram a wrench up your ass so far we could tell you to sit on a bolt and it'd tighten." Everyone let out a sound of disgust, minus Qrow who just smirked.

Kane… of course it was Kane trying to contact him at this exact moment in time. Hastings sighed a little as Qrow picked up the receiver.

"Hello sunshine, what makes you wanna call this number?" Qrow said in a mocking tone as the other end went silent.

"Who the HELL are you and what the FUCK are you doing with Hastings' radio pack!" Kane shrieked as Qrow pulled away from the radio out of surprise.

"One second you cock-bite if you have Hastings…" Kane was quickly interrupted.

"We have one of yours and we want answers… cough them up, now." Qrow finished in a monotone as he was met with silence.

There was a continuation to the silence as from the background a little scuffle could be heard.

"He's yours!" came Kane's voice, although it sounded like she was struggling.

"No he's not I have no idea who the fuck you're talking about, Hastings? Who's he… ow fuck shit, ow ok christ woman, grab some pads and go get a soda… FUCK! Hello…" The finish to that statement was like fire and ice, with the later being that calmest and most uninterested "hello" anyone of them had ever heard.

Qrow, deciding to shove the entirety of the man's statement from his mind, shrugged before returning to his serious tone that he reserves for very important moments.

"Listen here asshole, we have one of your soldiers and we want answers… so cough them," Qrow hadn't even finished when Simmons reply came through.

"Nah, you can keep him… hey Hastings! Can you hear me buddy ol' pal. Alright… FUCK you, you piece of human garbage, you made me drop my FUCKING pie you cunt! You know how often they serve pie, Hastings? Once every goddamn MONTH, and I was all ready and happy with my little pie fork that I keep in that case in my room to enjoy that pie and you go and cock everything up so screw you! GO DIE…. oh and by the way, we'll come and pick you up late OK… cheers, Kisses." And with that the radio communication cut out leaving a completely baffled trio to look at each other.

Qrow put down the receiver as he turned to Hastings to find him sitting there shaking. Not out of fear or sadness, but mirth. The madman was emitting a low chuckle as he looked at them through the glass from his white prison.

They were in for more than they could have ever imagined.

 **A/N: That's it ladies and gentlemen here's the chapter continuation to 15...**


	17. A Daring Escape

**A/N: Well here it is ladies and gents... the 17th chapter in HELLDIVERS.**

 **I enjoyed writing this chapter, let me know what you tink of it and leave a review!**

 **TopHatGuy: I'm going to try and balance out the fan and when shit hits it, keep up the reviews m8y**

 **In case anyone has forgotten RWBY in property of Roosterteeth and HELLDIVERS is property of Arrowhead Studios**

Hastings continued his chuckle as the door to the room opened and a rather confused Qrow entered.

"What the hell was all that about?!" Qrow clamped his hands on both of Hastings shoulders as he shook the chuckling mad man.

"They will be along shortly…" Hastings continued his chuckling as the realization of his statement hit Qrow like a ton of bricks.

"Oz, Glynda, we need the guard tripled on this facility." Qrow shouted as he left the room.

The door sliding closed behind him and a look akin to that of amusement appeared on Hastings face, his chuckling since faded away.

His captors, now fully occupied with his bluff that his allies were actually coming to his aid, decided to test the strength of the cuffs on his wrists. Giving the cuffs a tug he discovered that they were relatively weak.

Hastings started pulling his arms apart, the slight creaking of the metal cuffs reaching his ears as he forced them little by little. They were proving to be more resilient than he had originally anticipated. The cuffs were the only things holding him to the chair, If he could break the cuffs maybe, just maybe he could get out of there.

Looking up from his struggling he noticed that Ozpin, Qrow and Glynda had all left the room behind the glass, leaving two guards to watch both him and his equipment.

Just as he observed the guards a faint snap echoed out from behind him. However, the snap of the cuffs was not as silent as he had hoped, seeing as one of the guards pointed at him through the glass. The other one made his way over to the door and entered the room.

Hastings wore a small smirk as the guard approached him, clearly having not learned his lesson from Hastings encounter with the other guards at the school.

"What did he do?" Came the other guards call through the speakers as the first guard just shrugged, his guard was down the entire time.

Hastings, taking the moment by the horns, lept out of his chair and grabbed the guard around the neck before delivering a ferocious punch to the side of his head, his aura absorbing most of the impact before another swift jab knocked him out cold.

He was starting to realize that not all natives of this world had the same strength when it came to this "Aura" stuff. Some had ridiculous aura control, the giant in the White Fang, while others had weaker and almost unnoticeable Auras, like the guards from before his capture. As he looked at the man still in his arms he remembered the one outside the room.

"Oh Shit!" The guard behind the glass cursed as his friend slumped in Hastings arms.

Running over to the nearby control panel he smashed his fist down on it, an alarm blaring in the background as the green light above the only door out turned red. Hastings knew that the door was a no go. Looking to the glass he noticed a shutter starting to fall as the guard pulled out his rifle.

Hastings smirked as he grabbed the red rifle from the guard in his arms before hopping towards the glass. His ankle still broken he realized he would reach the glass with only a few seconds to spare. Flipping the rifle around he held it like a baseball bat before slamming it into the glass.

He had expected nothing to happen but much to his surprise and joy and the guards fear and panic, the glass cracked. A wild grin crossed his face as he smashed the gun, again and again, into the glass. Each time a new crack appeared but the shutter was closing fast.

Then it hit him. He looked at the rifle and then at the severely damaged glass before looking at the rifle again. He calmly walked up to the glass before carefully placing the rifle down on the ledge below the damaged portion of glass. He ran away from the glass and hid behind the chair. As he suspected the shutter dropped the last few feet…

Right onto the glowing red rifles damaged Dust Cartridge.

The room shook as the tearing of metal and shattering of glass ripped through the air. Pieces of metal and glass landed around him as he stood up from behind the chair. Dusting off his chest piece he looked at his handy work and let out a content sigh.

The metal shutter was torn asunder by the tremendous force of the volatile dust while the glass had almost completely disappeared from the frame, only the shattered corners of the window remained. As he stepped through the frame he could only wonder how this hadn't killed him when the girl name Yang punched the same rifle that was so close to his chest.

The thought rattled through his mind until he chalked it down to some different variant of dust. Seeing as the rifle was a different color than the one from before, a red over a blue. Perhaps it was some kind of explosive dust or such. However, he had bigger things to worry about.

Tossing that thought aside he looked around the control room. The other guard was out cold, having been smashed into the control panel at the far wall. Hastings had to give it to this Aura stuff. The man should have been dead, however, he was only unconscious as far as Hastings could see.

"There you are…" He grumbled as he picked up his weapons from the far table.

Strapping his marksman rifle to his back he gingerly picked up Celia before hugging the weapon close to his chest.

"Oh I missed you so much!" He half mumbled half exclaimed.

Placing the launcher on his back he holstered his pistol and other pieces equipment along with his radio. Messing with the dials and frequencies he was quickly met with a familiar voice.

"Man that guy was such a creep… He was _Hitting on me!_ " Came Kane's clearly freaked out voice as she recalled her radio encounter with Qrow.

"Oh Hastings radio… I swear if you fucking try and sweet talk me one more time…." Kane started as Hastings let out a prompt grunt.

"I'm out…" Hastings grumbled into the radio as the alarm started to loop back around.

"Hastings, what the hell did you do? Why are there alarms… and how did you get your radio back?!" Kane was starting to worry about what Hastings might have done.

"Haven't killed anyone... yet." Hastings answered her next dozen questions in three words.

He could have sworn Kane let out a relieved sigh but didn't have time to ask about it as she cleared her throat.

"Alright Hastings, you're going to need to get out of there, what's your plan?" Kane asked as the alarms kept ringing.

She received no answer as Hastings stared at the radio, a look of realization on his features.

"I'll think of one..." Hastings responded as he put the radio on his shoulder, the door to exit the room jammed open slightly.

"You have no plan… whatsoever… what the hell were you thinking?!" Kane exclaimed through the radio causing Hastings to recoil slightly.

Hastings let out a sigh of defeat as he turned off the radio, not wanting to deal with a slightly angry Kane, in favor of allowing himself to focus on escaping the facility. Wedging his hands in the jammed door he struggled at first. The doors groaning before eventually giving way to his persistence.

Laid out before him was a small room with a single elevator a few feet away from him. Seeing as he had not other options he looked for the button. Finding it he reached out to push it but the elevator whirred to life meaning someone was coming down.

"Shit" Hastings grumbled under his breath as he checked his magazine and made sure there were bullets loaded.

Satisfied with the presence of bullets in his pistol he held it behind his back as the elevator came to a stop. The door opened as two guards stared at him, the alarm reaching their ears.

Before they could even mutter a word, Hastings put a few shots in each of their kneecaps, making sure their aura didn't stop the bullets, before grabbing their heads and smashing them together.

The pair collapsed to the floor, out like lights as Hastings stepped over their unconscious bodies and pressed the "Lobby" button on the elevator's control panel. He knew they would be waiting for him there.

As the elevator lurched and started its ascent he realized that they would probably have a firing squad waiting for him as the doors opened. Looking around he noticed a service hatch in the ceiling.

Climbing up on the railings he gave the hatch a few punches before it broke. Letting a little smirk out he pushed the hatch outward and climbed up onto the top of the elevator.

The elevator was rocketing up as he realized, the breaks just starting to kick in as the speed slowly started to bleed off. Looking to the door that was rapidly approaching he noticed a small vent above it.

That's when an idea came to his mind.

As the elevator came to a complete stop he pushed his fingers through the gaps in the vent grate before firmly grasping the metal and tearing it out of the concrete it was placed in. Throwing the grate off the elevator and down the long drop he slowly slid into the vent as the sound of the elevator doors opening could be heard.

"Medic!" Came one yell as they saw the bloody, but still quite alive, guards in the elevator.

"Where the hell did he go?" The question echoed down the vent from behind Hastings.

Hastings looked over his shoulder as he gave a small shrug, simply for the fact that they had not seen the rather large hole in the ceiling of the elevator.

"Wait… The service hatch!" Came another's yell as Hastings continued to pull himself through the vent.

"Son of a Bitch! He's in the vents!" Came the frantic yells as the mixture of shuffling boots and confused yells echoed through the various paths of the vents.

'Looks like they finally pieced it together' Came Hastings amused thought as he continued his crawl through the air ducts.

Coming to a split in the duct he looked both ways before turning on his radio. Dialing in the proper frequency he waited for an answer.

"Who the hell is this?" Came the annoyed voice from the other end.

"Left or Right?" Came Hastings question as the slightly annoyed Simmons took a second to realize who he was talking to.

"Hastings?! You made it out?" Simmons asked as Hasting shrugged slightly from the prone position in the vent.

"Not really, right or left?" Hastings asked again, this time with a bit of urgency in his voice.

"Right, I guess… wait what are you.." Simmons was cut off as Hastings turned the radio off and put it away, turning the tracking beacon on his PDA back on.

He had been crawling to the right for as long as he could remember. Seeing as the endless path never stopped he let out a sigh as he banged his fist on the floor of the vent. The vent, being none too happy with this decided that he was just a tad bit too heavy.

The snap and creak of the vent below him made him tense as he heard voices coming from the grate in front of him.

"What in the blazes was that?" Came a rather gruff and confused voice.

The familiar murmurs of the students that occupied the school came through the vent as well. Hastings kept perfectly still as he heard the person mumble a bit more before clearing his throat.

"Now students, I know that lunchtime detention should be held in one room… but seeing as the air conditioning is quite angry with us," The elicited a mild chuckle from the man speaking, "We should move rooms as to…" The man was unable to finish as the vent had had enough with Hastings exploitation and snapped completely.

The broken end of the vent smashing through the ceiling of the room and dumping Hastings through it, a fall from 20 feet would only prove to injure him more. Looking around frantically he noticed a dangling wire and grabbed on as he slid out the front of the vent.

The wire doing little to slow his fall as he smacked into the ground in an unceremonious pile in the middle of the room.

"What in the blazes!" Came the man's shout, although now Hastings could attach a body to the voice.

A rather portly man with a red jacket and massive mustache adorning his face stood a dozen feet from him behind a desk. The man had a hand on his chest and another on the desk.

"Are you alright son?" The man questioned, his mustache twitching violently as he spoke.

'So Ozpin hasn't informed everyone about me… interesting.' Hastings thought quickly as he made to stand but reminded about his destroyed ankle.

"Fuck!" Hastings hissed out as he remembered something, a little something that Doc had slipped him weeks ago, before any of this had happened.

"Oh my, your ankle… I will call for the infirmary." The portly teacher stated in a rush as he picked up the scroll on the desk.

However, he turned back to the assumed student to see him pulling out a rather small syringe and slam it into his thigh on his injured leg.

The soup inside the syringe burned, oh boy did it burn. Hastings recoiled back as his leg felt like it was on fire. His ankle, in particular, felt like it was stuck in a blast furnace but the pain started to go away as his ankle straightened out, seemingly repairing itself.

"Thanks Doc…" Hastings mumbled as he tested the ankle before hopping to his feet, the miracle medicine that coursed through his veins almost felt like streams of lava but it wasn't the worst thing.

However, it made him wince every now and then. However, he had new problems. Said problems presenting themselves in the form of shouting and boots stamping outside the door to the room. Taking his rifle in his hands he noticed something, the pain from the razor wire was gone. Looking at his hands the holes in the gloves were there, but his skin was stitched back together.

"Target is in the classroom, breach!" The voice shouted as Hastings stood there like a deer in headlights, the door being obliterated sending pieces of wooden shrapnel through the room.

The students and the teacher had taken cover but Hastings just stood there, his hands still occupying his attention. That's when a 2-foot long razor sharp piece of wood in the door impacted him right in the chest.

"Gahh, son of a bitch!" Hastings yelled as he dropped to one knee, the wood going straight through his chest, right through his left lung.

The blood rushing into his lung was enough to cause him some mild discomfort as he coughed up his own life force. The red liquid pouring into his helmet.

"Warning, bodily fluids filling helmet, draining system activated!" Came the robotic female voice, the helmet draining the blood into a pool to his front.

As he saw the blood pool he realized something, looking to his hands and ankle he smirked, Blood staining his grin.

"Here goes nothin'" He spat as he grasped the board in two hands and pulled.

Worst case, he bleeds to death. Best case, the lava coursing through his veins does a magician's act worthy of a few honorable mentions and Doc get's a bloody great kiss.

As he tore the board from his chest the flesh and bone started to inch back into place, his lung forming first. This gave the security team quite the startle as they entered the room.

Looks of disgust as some of them gagged and hacked. One even running to the trash can and emptying his lunch.

"Oh, that's nice…. Now to deal with this." Hastings grumbled as he looked up, his muscles starting to inch back into place.

Lifting up his mask he bent over and coughed, the blood trapped in his lung spilling out onto the floor. Whipping his mouth with the back of his hand he let a toothy grin poke through the rough and unkempt beard that clung to his chin.

"Now… where were we?" Hastings questioned nonchalantly as he clamped the helmet back into place.

The guard all stood there, dumbfounded and incapable of processing what they had just seen. This man that Ozpin had told them to capture had just regenerated what would have been a fatal injury without so much as a tear. To add to that, he had smiled at them right after coughing up a gallon of his own blood.

As both sides stood there Hastings' PDA buzzed. A message popped up that made his smile from ear to ear.

"Hastings, you piece of shit… we have a transport locked onto your beacon. Get to the cliff now." The message read.

Hastings just looked up from the message and smirked. His hand traveling to his belt as he clasped his hand on a small flash grenade. Pulling the pin with his thumb he threw it like a baseball right at the guards.

Still stunned from Hastings previous actions they were slow to react when a bright flash rendered them all blind and helpless.

Hastings knew he had to run, despite the possibility of a mass kneecapping, and run he did. He sprinted past the yelling guards as one of them smacked his hand into the emergency alarm just as Hastings sprinted past.

However, as Hastings exited the room he made a motion to go left but ran smack into another group of guards. Thinking on his feet he quickly reversed his motion and took the passage to the right.

With fire, almost literally, in his veins he sprinted down the hall before bursting through a door out into a small courtyard where a few students had gathered to eat their lunch.

They paused and looked at the bloody man before them, one of the girls yelled as he sped past them. Slowly piecing together the alarm and the sudden appearance of this man before them. A group of guards came bursting through the door as well only to see the end of Hastings cape slip through the door towards the Cafeteria.

Hastings froze as he entered the room, as did everyone else there as well. He was in the cafeteria, and he just realized this when the guards came bursting through the door behind him.

"Hey! We have unfinished business!" Came a shout from across the room.

Hastings looked over and saw the same Blond from yesterday who absolutely destroyed him with a few punches. He would deal with her later, for now he had to deal with his escape.

Pulling his pistol he fired a few times behind him and successfully destroyed one kneecap and injured another guards leg. However, there were still a dozen of them behind him. Giving up on his usual tactic he decided that running was his best bet. So run he did.

Sprinting through the crowd, bobbing and weaving between the trays and food carts he found himself nearing the other end of the cafeteria.

"Stop that man!" Came the guards urgent shout.

'They can't outrun me' Hastings thought but felt a gust of wind and a red blur shoot past him.

'But she can!' Hastings yelled in his mind as the girl from last night, Ruby, blurred past him and blocked his exit.

A few students moved to grab him, particularly the ones still wearing their gear. From what Hastings could gather they had just come from a combat class to eat. He slid to a halt as they gathered around him. A circle of rather angry looking and confused students created a nigh impenetrable barrier.

'I can't hurt children...' Hastings stated in his mind with a hint of annoyance.

Just as all hope was lost he heard a loud droning from outside and his radio sparked to life inside his helmet.

"This is Transport 1, we are at the Pickup sight. Where the hell are you?" The pilot questioned, his tone showing a bit of worry.

"This is Hastings, I'm a bit… stuck… unless…" Hastings thought quickly, pulling a stratagem beacon from his pack he quickly typed in a few numbers before letting it slip into his pocket.

A smirk traveled to his features as the guard push forward through the students, their rifles raised. He placed his hands on his head as he closed his eyes and counted down.

"We have your surrounded, resistance…" Before the guard could finish a loud crash signified the arrival of his package.

Hastings rolled to the side as an MC-109 Combat Motorcycle landed next to him. Reversing his roll, he hopped into the seat and gunned the engine. The tire spinning out of the marble before getting some grip.

From the second it gripped he was off. The students quickly got out of the way of the speeding cycle as he neared the door at the far end. Leaning over to the left his squeezed the trigger of the machine gun and punched dozens of holes through the thick wooden door.

Bracing himself, he lowered himself and hugged the body of the cycle as it smashed into the punctured door. He felt a rush of satisfaction when the door simply splintered to pieces after the dozens of .50 caliber rounds had weakened the wood.

"This is Hastings, MC-109 inbound. I have eyes on." Hastings stated as he saw the transport hovering off the cliff.

"You're going to need to stop so I can…" The pilot started.

"No." Hastings interrupted, "Hostiles" Hastings finished as he gunned the engine, popping a wheelie as the Motorcycle picked up speed.

It was quite the distance to the transport as he saw the door open. Standing in the door was none other than Simmons himself. Hastings smirked as he revved the engine, the cliff approaching rapidly.

Crouching down the Bike reached the edge. He shot up, his legs propelling him up as he flailed, the motorcycle giving him the speed. He was out over the sheer drop as he reached for the transport. However, his hope turned to slight disappointment as he was about to miss the hovering transport.

Suddenly he stopped, his hand clasped in another as he heard the MC-109 explode below him.

"You complete piece of shit… I should let you fall right now." It was Nikolai's voice.

"Take us out of here captain!" Simmons yelled from inside the passenger compartment as the pilot nodded.

They started to gain altitude. As the ground shrank Hastings looked up to Nikolai to see a blank faceplate starting back at him. Nikolai grunted as he hoisted Hastings into the transport.

"Again, you piece of shit… what were you thinking." Wulff this time questioned.

Hastings simply slid Celia off of his back and presented it to them. The launcher was slightly burnt and dinged up but it was in his hands none the less.

"You are a crazy bastard, and you owe me a piece of pie. I mean fuck you." Simmons grumbled as he slumped back in his chair.

"Well, we did come for him… like you said." Wulff pointed out as the door closed and he took a seat as well.

"A Hunter is a Hunter, no man…. Or launcher left behind." Simmons let out a sigh as they all chuckled.

"Learned things." Hastings stated as Simmons perked up, now mildly interested.

"Do tell…" Simmons asked as he leaned forward.

They could all tell this was going to be a long trip.

 **A/N: Well there it is, 4K words... remember to leave feedback, not just "It was good"**

 **Any and all feedback is helpful**


	18. The Problem with Police

**A/N: Here it is ladies and gents, take a good long look at this chapter and then tell me what you think about it by leaving some feedback, hell you might just get a shoutout in the next chapter!**

They listened to Hastings, his short sentences making the message take a little longer to get across. It was a small thing that Simmons had always been slightly annoyed with when involving Hastings and Intel in the same sentence.

"So what you're saying is that those idiots think that we're with the Grimm?" Wulff questioned as Hastings nodded.

"What a special bunch they are… but you also said that their "Force field shit" fluctuates from person to person?" Simmons restated Hastings previous explanation of what they assumed was the Aura the natives had.

Hastings simply nodded as Simmon scratched the chin of his helmet in silent contemplation. This certainly was an interesting find, and one that they would not be shrugging off to the side.

"Although we know this, there are still dozens of questions we have unanswered." Wulff grumbled as he crossed his arms and lowered his head in thought.

They spent the next few seconds in silence as the Transport lifted up through the air. The blue sky slowly dissipated, giving way to the inky blackness of space as the transport entered low orbit towards SOD.

"This is your captain speaking, SOD is within visual range. ETA: 4 minutes." The pilot droned out as the transport tilted upwards to match height with SOD.

"So what's our next course of action?" Nikolai mumbled as he turned his head towards Simmons.

"Before we left to grab Hastings I talked with both the Science and Engineering departments. Seeing as we have a limited supply of ammunition and weapons I thought it best we try and secure some replacements." Simmons started as he rested his head against the wall, "They said they would come up with something to try and fabricate weapons from resources found on the planet." He finished as he thought back to the two of the department heads bickering about what was and wasn't possible.

The other members of Hunter all nodded in agreement. Their brief talk was over and now all they had to do was wait for the transport to dock with SOD. This wait however, was not long.

A minute later the transport shook as SOD's docking clamps locked onto it, pulling it into the hangar bay. Nikolai stretched as Wulff unbuckled himself and stood up, a slightly muffled groan escaping his mouth as he slid open the door, jumping down to the platform below them.

A few salutes here and there as Simmons walked down the hallways towards the Engineering Department. Upon walking in the four of them found quite possibly the most unorganized space they had ever encountered.

Everything from blowtorches and screwdrivers to wrenches and power drills were scattered around the large hall before them. Engineers and scientists alike zipped about from side to side as they talked amongst themselves. The scientists openly showing some distaste towards their current work environment.

"Ah, Admiral!" Came a soft voice from the right of Hunter Squad.

"Arthur, Ashley. It's arthur." Simmons stated as he walked over to the buried desk belonging to the Chief Mechanic, Ashley Timely.

Ashley Timely was a complete genius when it came to mechanical design and construction. It was one of them main reasons that she was placed on SOD's crew, since their previous Mechanic had met an unfortunate career roadblock when Hastings got a bit upset.

Despite the warnings, and rumors, Ashley took the job by the reigns. Coming in at a ripe age of 25 she is the youngest of the senior staff on the Sword of Damocles. Short brown hair and green eyes, she has a killer stare when you haven't done your job right. Standing at a respectable 6 feet, she has what one might call the "Middle ground height" for SOD crew.

"So, how goes the small project." Simmons stated in a monotone as Ashley stood up from her desk and brushed off her jumpsuit.

"It is no small project." Ashley quipped as she cast him a frustrated glance.

Despite her best attempts Oil always seems to find a way onto the jumpsuit. It was endlessly frustrating but it was all part of the job. Upon spotting another stain she just let out a slightly distressed sigh before straightening herself out.

"If you four would follow me," Ashley started as she tucked her bangs behind her ears and pulled a cap onto her head. "As you can see, the Engineering Department is…" Ashely was cut off as another voice called out from just behind them.

"A boggin mess Ms. Timely." The voice stated sternly as Ashley just let out a deep sigh.

"Your crew is made up o' a bunch o' haphazard youngins and my team can'nt work in this environ'nt!" Simmons and his squad turned to face a rather old man with a rough beard attached to his lower face.

Sylvester O'Neil, Chief Scientist and old grouch extraordinaire. Give him a scientific problem and a bottle of Whisky and you can consider that problem already solved. Running on his late 50's, O'Neil isn't considered a young face on the ship. Heck, O'Neil is probably the oldest one on the ship.

His greying hair is a testament to his seniority on the ship and it proves that if there's ever been a scientific problem on SOD, he's been there to solve it. Slightly wrinkled skin and a pair deep hazel of eyes that'd cut through a locked bulkhead. The most prominent feature of the 6 foot and a bit man is his deadly accent. The accent was a lovechild of an Irish father and a Scottish mother both spewing their dialects around. This being the case, his speech is almost unintelligible to the normal man.

"O'Neill, I take it you haven't been able to get much work done?" Simmons question as O'Neill shook his head.

"Ere's th' deal Admiral," O'Neil continued as he stroked his beard, "We've been working our arses off long int'a the day. And we've finally had a bloody great breakthrough." O'Neil said with a toothy grin.

Simmons raised his eyebrow as he had Never seen O'Neil in such a state of genuine happiness.

"My assistant ere' 'ill explain thing ta ya… in a way that ya 'ill make better sense of ed's n' tails." O'Neil promptly saluted and walked off towards his makeshift lab before another scientist walked up to take his place.

"H-Hello Admiral…" Silence ensued as they all stared at the short woman who had just taken the spot O'Neil had occupied moments ago.

"Ms. Washington, do explain what Scotty was talking about." Simmons prompted as she opened her mouth.

"I fucken' eard that you piece o' jobby! Don' make me come o'er there." O'Neil yelled from across the room, everyone freezing for a second before returning to work.

"As I was about to say, drones are in the process of scanning minerals on the planet… and from what we've found, this planet carries minerals that mirror Super Earths in both quantity and quality."

"What does this mean for us?" Simmons jumped straight to the point.

"What this means, Sir, is that we could fabricate our own weapons, ammunition, ETC… as well as develop some new toys for you four on the ground from this "Dust" material." She finished as she cast a few glances at the PDA in her hands.

"That sounds fantastic… Ashley, what is the possibility of actual fabrication using the systems on the ship?" Simmons turned to Ashley as he shrugged.

"Well, seeing as we are in the process of building a fabricator it might take a little while before we can actually become self-sufficient." She rubbed the back of her head as Simmons nodded in understanding.

"Well, you two know where to find us. Keep up the good work. For Democracy!" Simmons shouted and saluted.

"For Democracy!" The room boomed as everyone saluted and shouted before returning to work.

Simmons exited the room right behind Nikolai, Hastings, and Wuff. The turned the corner as the door slid shut.

"Looks like they're well on their way…" Wulff stated with a satisfied nod.

"Yeah, let's hope it stays that way…" Simmons grumbled as his mind continued to plan out what else needed to be done.

Just as they rounded the corner towards the bridge, Communications officer Fredrikson exited the control room, a look of slight relief on his face as he spotted the four of them walking down the hall.

"Oh boy, am I glad I found you." Fredrikson started, "Because we have some good, or bad, news for you guys." Fredrikson finished as he turned on his heel and motioned for them to follow him.

"What is it Fredrikson?" Simmons questioned as they entered the control room.

The first thing that made itself apparent was the appearance of a large TV screen at the end of the lower deck. It appeared to be a news channel as the person on the screen was sitting behind a desk, a ticker scrolling by at the bottom of the screen.

"It's one of those animal people." Nikolai stated bluntly as he spotted the pair of ears on the top of the news anchors head, the fuzzy tips just poking through her long hair.

"Beacon Academy has been infiltrated by an unknown force. Yes that's right Vale. On two separate occasions, one today and another yesterday Beacon Academy's security was compromised." This worried the members of Hunter Squad as they soon realized the implications of the news anchors report.

"Security cameras captured a single image of the assailant that left several Beacon academy guards seriously injured." The picture that popped up on screen elicited several reactions from the four of them.

"Not a very flattering image…" Nikolai mumbled as he facepalmed.

"This is bad…" Wulff stated but was interrupted by the news anchor.

Hastings just grunted as he looked over his pistol, the picture that spread across the TV was that of just before Hastings put a bullet through the guards leg, his pistol poised and ready to fire. His helmet and cape proudly displayed to the camera.

"Well, they got the right angles." Simmons chuckled as Hastings nodded in agreement.

They were cut off as she started to speak again.

"The markings on the assailants armor were found to be unaffiliated with any known organisation on remnant. Police think they are part of a rogue element and show signs of being incredibly aggressive, hostile, and well trained." She took a deep breath as Hunter Squad looked to one another.

"Hostile?!" Hastings exclaimed in mild confusion and shock, pondering why his actions were seen as "Hostile".

"Ozpin has yet to comment on these two incidents. Meanwhile, an Atlas armed forces outpost in northern Vale was also visited by individuals matching descriptions with those who infiltrated Beacon Academy." The news castor looked through the papers on her desk before looking off screen, a look of concern floating onto her face.

"This just in, White Fang forces have just taken a police precinct in the Western Suburbs of Vale. Swat teams have been unable to respond as multiple crimes have been reported across the city. It is recommended that you stay indoors for the time being. The White Fang forces have been described as "Armed and Dangerous". We can only hope that this ends without any…" The TV turned off as Nikolai, Hastings, and Wulff looked to Simmons, a grin creeping onto his lips.

"No… we can't…" Wulff stated slowly as his eyes pleaded Simmons to rethink whatever plan was currently whirling around in his head.

"Soldiers! Prepare for deployment… we're gonna hunt us some terrorists!" Simmons bellowed out as Hastings and Nikolai saluted him as Wulf just let out a sigh of defeat.

"Admiral, should we make preparations as well?" The weapons officer questioned as Simmons just nodded in his direction.

"Affirmative Sergeant, ready weapons support from SOD, it's never bad to be safe." Simmons grumbled as he walked over to the map table, his eyes scanning the relatively new map of Vale.

He had to admit that the mapping drones were quick, having covered the entirety of the town in a little over an hour. Laid out before him on the table was a three dimensional map of the city of Vale. The drones having already located the crime scene were in the process of displaying the complex under White Fang control in red and the police forces in blue.

"It looks like they have weak police presence around the station. This is going to be bad for the police." Wulff mumbled as they looked at the police station.

"Here's how we do it. We go in loud, fast, and hard. We drop in behind the police station, this walled in courtyard should do, and we clear the station completely and then exfil." Simmons circled parts of the map as he looked to his squadmates.

"What about the police?" Nikolai asked the real question that hung in the air.

"The police… the police are not targets. If they shoot at you, do not retaliate. We are trying to wipe away the stain that our Beacon and Atlas encounters have created, do not fuck it up." Simmons replied as he looked between the three of them, making sure they nodded in understanding.

"Alright men, mount up!" Simmons tapped the map in the courtyard, a spinning circle popping up in the middle a second later.

"Coordinates are locked in and zeroed, How Copy?" Came one of the support officers voices as Simmons pressed his hand to his radio.

"This is Hunter 1-1, We copy loud and clear. Hunter is ready for launch. Also send a pair of SH-32's." Simmons removed his hand from his radio as he tightened the harness.

"Roger that and request accepted, Godspeed and good luck Gentlemen. For Democracy!"

"For Democracy!" Came Hunter Squad's collective cheers and shouts as their pods shot from the ship, a loud pop as each one rocketed out towards the planet..

Their pods weaved around as they played with the limited maneuvering controls. Small fins and flaps inching about of the exterior of the pod.

"Remember," Simmons started, breaking through the muffled roar of the atmosphere. "They're terrorists, nothing more than scum who need a good dose of freedom. Leave no survivors." Simmons finished in a deadpan as Wulff, Nikolai, and Hastings all replied with simple grunts.

 **Vale - Police Station**

Rabbit faunus' are easy to read when they're afraid. He was no exception and he was afraid, actually he was terrified. He could feel his long ears curling up on his head underneath his hood. He adjusted his white mask for the fourth time in the past half-hour.

The dark room in the police station where three of them stood in silence, awaiting any order from the head of the group. They were there to take any weapons not bolted down and return to base. An easy task since it was basically empty thanks to Roman Torchwick and his police-attracting skills.

"Come on, you can't be that nervous." The sharp tone that laced the other voice cut through his nerves as he jumped up slightly.

"W-what are you talking about! I-I'm not t-that scar… I mean nervous!" He grumbled back, a slight quiver in his tone.

"Will both of you shut up! Especially you, can you stop that thumper." A female voice echoed through the office as he looked down, grabbing his leg and stopping his natural tendency.

The silence was met with a few pairs of feet as a total of eight White Fang entered the room. He felt a little more comfortable now that his "Friends" were here. A sigh escaping his mouth as he readjusted his rifle strap.

"Okay, so here's the deal. We have every weapon that was in the armory packed and ready for transport." She looked around the table at the white masks facing her.

"This had been an easy job that has only been capitalized upon by the lack of any real police. Roman did a great job redirecting the main force. The only one's outside were a few on standby and some off duty." She cast a glance to the window, her gaze travelling onto the street and over the multiple destroyed police cars and bloodied street.

"They were easy." This elicited a chuckle from the group as she motioned for them to follow.

They all noded as they left the table, a total of eleven on the second floor and nine on the first floor to keep any new arrivals busy. Even a trained hunter would be slow to get through all of them.

They made it to the stairs as several loud whistles made themselves known to the more noise sensitive Faunus. They covered their primary pair of ears as the whistle got louder before abruptly ending with a bang in the rear of the complex.

The White Fang in charge raised a hand to her second pair of ears before pressing on the communicator..

"This is Katrina you guys heard that right? Good... Felix and Alyx go check it out." She growled as she removed her hand from her ear.

"What the hell was that anyways." One of them thought out loud as he raised his rifle slightly.

As Katrina was about to speak, her comms fizzed to life. It was the group she sent to investigate.

"What is it…" She questioned, a bit uneasy.

"It's weird, there are these four holes in the ground… oh Fu…" He never got to finish as a loud crack echoed through the earpiece, repeating only a fraction of a second later, resonating through the building.

Another batch of shots cut through the air as thoughts raced through all of their minds. Their weapons gripped tightly they all took cover behind the turned over desks in the hallway. They all took aim at the stairs, anxiety burning through their common sense.

"Anyone downstairs see anything?!" One of the Fang nervously yelled down the flight of stairs.

"Nothing… wait… what is that! Shoot it!" The sound of rifle fire echoed up the stairs as several other guns joined in.

The bark of a shotgun quickly shut down one of the weapons as the rapid fire of a machinegun quickly ended two others. Meanwhile, the White Fang upstairs were almost quivering with fear. Their allies statement seconds ago still resonating.

"Maybe it's Atlas's new bots?" One of them questioned as they all weighed the options.

"Can't be, those haven't officially entered service." They were interrupted by the sound of feet on the metal stairs.

Every one of them tensed as they aimed their rifles, their sights lowering as they saw the familiar white mask peak over the lip. However, letting their guard down was the last thing they should have done. The mask was pulled back as it came sailing up onto their floor, a red light flashing from it as all their eyes widened.

"Grenade!" Several of them shouted as they jumped away from the grenade, some through doorways and others behind metal desks that had been pulled into the hallway.

The grenade exploded. However, instead of shrapnel, a thick liquid sprayed in all directions. The gel coating two White Fang who were unfortunate enough to still be standing in the opening.

"What the hell is this stuff?!" Yelled one of those covered in the sticky gel as they tried to wipe it off of their clothes.

A few seconds later the remains of the grenade beeped and a small secondary charge ignited the gel. Two of them were engulfed in flames as the hallway was set ablaze.

Screams of pain echoed through the hall. The remaining nine exited the hallway into rooms on either side of the now flame-engulfed hallway. Thick smoke and the smell of burning flesh filled the hallway and had started leaking into adjacent rooms.

The group of four had closed the door, stopping to catch their breath as they coughed. The screams of their allies getting quieter as they expired. As the looked around one of them pushed the communicator on their ear.

"What the fuck was that!" He shouted in both fear and anger as he smashed his fist on a nearby desk.

The reply he got was just as angry and even more aggravated with a hint of fear prevalent above all else.

"I have no Dust damned idea, what kind of weapon was that." The other Gang member questioned in slight disbelief at the shocking display of carnage that was the grenade they had just witnessed.

"An incendiary grenade… Fuck! So what do we do now?" He questioned as a pair of footsteps made their way up to their floor, the conversation cutting short as they all faced the door.

The tension was palpable as the footsteps stopped outside the door. Suddenly sirens started to fill the air as they looked out the window, ignoring the unknown threat. At least a dozen squad cars and three SWAT vans filled the street outside the front gate.

"If the cops just got here than who the hell are these guys!" One of them questioned as the door buckled and splintered open.

They stumbled backwards as the smoke from the raging inferno in the hallway started to pour into the room. Preventing them from seeing their attackers.

"Fire!" He yelled as they all opened up through the thick smoke.

Their weapons fire was met with a strange humming noise and low buzzes. As they stopped firing, a large rectangle of light about 2 meters high and 1 and a half meters wide pushed through the smoke. Before they could utter a single word bullets tore through them, cutting them down where they stood. Desks and cabinets turned to scrap as the machinegun swept across the room, the fire only stopping when a rapid click echoed out.

"These are the White Fang? Where the hell were the police?" Quipped Nikolai as he fed another magazine into his Stalwart.

"Shut it, you know they were diverted away," Wulff started as he peered out the window and spotted the police outside, "And now they're back… fucking great." Wulff turned back to Nikolai as he activated his radio.

"Major, the cops are back… looks like they have some pretty big guns out there." Wulff stated, his statement mentioning the kitted out SWAT teams.

"Oh Map, you might want to patch yourself up." Wulff stated in a monotone as he motioned to the multiple shallow holes in his armor from the White Fang's Dust weapons.

Letting out a sigh he pulled out a syringe and plunged it into his shoulder, the medicine quickly working to seal the wounds.

"There… all better." He shot back at Wulff who just rolled his eyes and pointed to the door.

"We still have another room to…" Wulff was cut off as a loud scream pierced the air, a wet crunch following closely behind it, made its way up the stairs.

"Jesus Fucking Christ Hastings." Nikolai cursed as Wulff chuckled slightly, the pair unflinching as they moved to the next door on their rampage.

"This is Major, bottom floor is clear… what's your status up there?" Simmons voice echoed through the radio.

Wulff made to respond but was cut off by a scream. Not one of pain, but one of fear and panic. It was feminine in nature and was on the other side of the door they were on. The sound of an activating megaphone captured their attention. The fire in the hallway had started dying down, allowing Nikolai and Wulff to get closer to the door.

"Listen here, we have a hostage and we won't hesitate to shoot her unless we get out scott free." Another female voice called from behind the door, she sounded like she was in charge and she was trying to negotiate with the police.

"They have a hostage, what's your call?" Wulff was ready to incinerate the entire room, but a hostage posed a new problem.

"A hostage… son of a cock… wait till we get there, Doc." Simmons grumbled as they heard a pair of boots starting to climb the stairs.

Simmons wiped some blood splatter off of his chestplate as he nodded to both Nikolai and Wulff. Hastings was bringing up the rear as he holstered his rifle and just leaned on the wall next to the door.

The fire had been out for a minute but the smell of burnt flesh still hung in the air. It was a smell they had long since become accustomed to and thanked their helmets filters for minimizing. The two charred bodies of the unfortunate Faunus lay on the floor. Their bodies petrified with silent screams still escaping their throats.

"Doc, Map, hostage problems?" Nikolai noded as Simmons rapped his knuckles on the door, a few shuffling feet from behind the door letting him know they had been heard.

Simmons prayed he wouldn't have to resort to killing a hostage to ensure victory.

"We won't hesitate to shoot her!" Came a sharp bark from the other side as Simmons just let out a sigh.

"Alright bitch, here's how I see it. You either surrender now and we put you down like the animals you are or you fight and I have Hastings here remove each set of ears with his bare hands one at a time." Simmons bellowed through the door as he threw his thumb over to Hastings who grunted before cracking his knuckles.

"Fuck you, human scum! We would rather die than cooperate with the likes of you. We'll put you down as you kneel, just like this bitch." She was running out of ideas and losing momentum, they could hear it in her voice.

Simmons snapped his fingers as he pointed to Nikolai and circled on the wall to the right of the door before circling two more spots with his fingers on the wall. Nodding to Wulff and Hastings he patted his pistol before pointing to theirs. They nodded in understanding as they slung their main weapons over their backs and pulled out their pistols.

Simmons pulled out his pistol as well and placed the barrel firmly against the wall. The other three members of Hunter were looking at him as he slashed across his chest and motioned upwards with his hand. They all noded as Wulff and Hastings flipped their pistols into burstfire.

"That bigmouth is mine, Fire at will…"

The words had no sooner left Simmons mouth than the entire hallway and room in front of them was filled with the deafening roar of automatic fire and three round bursts. Plaster and wooden supports were ripped from the wall as it was shredded by the high caliber rounds.

The White Fang leader was shocked and unable to move as her friends were torn apart around her. Chunks of flesh and stray limbs flew from Nikolai's side as his machinegun shredded metal and bone alike.

"Breaching!" Simmons yelled as he pushed his Breaker into the handle and fired, tearing the lock from the door itself.

The door leaned inwards before coming completely off it's hinge, Simmons boot finalizing the doors fate. The door slid a few feet before coming to rest.

They entered the room, ignoring the corpses and crying wounded that lay on the floor. Nikolai approached on the right while Simmons, Wulff and Hastings followed on the left. But before any of them could say anything a White Fang soldier leapt from cover and towards him, a knife drawn and cry of rage leaving her throat.

Seeing this he simply smirked, his natural reaction being to throw away his weapon and unhook his two icepicks from his chest harness. Bringing them both in opposite directions he caught the blade of the knife between the picks. A smirk gracing his lips as he twisted the picks, the blade snapping in half.

Nikolai quickly spun on his heel and delivered a low sweep to his opponent, dropping her to the floor. He could almost see the fear in her eyes as she held her hand out only to have a downward swinging icepick pierce straight through it.

A shrill cry of pain rang out before Nikolai gave the blade a quick twist, inverting her arm, before lifting his leg high and stomping down with all his might. The bone in her arm was reduced to dust as a silent scream tore through her throat. The Floor getting slick from the blood escaping her wound. He clipped the picks back into place as he stood up straight.

"I would spit on you… but your kind isn't worth the effort… Terrorist scum." Nikolai grunted as he picked up his Stalwart and turned back to the other three.

"Just let go of her… there's no way you can make it out of this alive." Simmons deadpanned as he motioned to the mutilated bodies around them.

They noticed that she was quivering, unable to form words. Wulff just sighed as he walked up to her petrified form and grabbed the pistol in her hand before tearing it out of her hand with a quick pull. Noticing that her weapon was gone she simply sat down on the floor with a 1000 yard stare.

"Her mind is damaged." Wulff stated as he walked over to the seated White Fang and waved a small flashlight in front of her eyes receiving no response from her.

"Leave for police…" Hastings muttered as they all nodded.

Out of 20 White Fang they were leaving one broken and unresponsive soldier. They found it strange, the way she reacted, but then again she has not experienced death and returned. This was probably her first time seeing her allies and friends killed before her.

"T-thank you…" Came a meek voice from behind them, prompting them all to turn.

The hostage was still kneeling on the floor, her eyes screwed tight. The whole reason had made itself known to Hunter Squad as they looked around at the bloody carnage that covered the room wall to wall.

"Come on, someone help her up… we need to get out of here." Simmons barked out his orders as he pointed to the young lady in front of them.

"Alright Ma'am, can you walk?" Nikolai presented an entirely different side as he questioned her in a polite and warm tone.

"I don't know, my leg is a bit messed up." She grunted through clenched teeth as they saw the gash in her leg.

"Here, rest on my shoulder." Nikolai kneeled down before pulling her arm over his neck turning his helmeted face towards her.

"Alright, upsy daisy on one, two, three!" They both stood as she grimaced from the lance of pain that shot up through her leg.

"You got her, Map?" Nikolai nodded as Simmons continued, "Alright men, looks like we're getting the hostage out and then we get to the exfil.

They all nodded as they exited the room and into the burnt corridor. The smell of burnt flesh and smoke still hung in the air as the young woman gagged slightly from the stench.

"We're almost out Ma'am, you'll be safe in a moment." Nikolai reassured her as they reached the stairs.

However, as they reached the stairs the woman slumped slightly on Nikolai's shoulder. Nikolai looked over and noticed that she was a little pale.

"She's lost a lot of blood guys. I'm gonna need to carry her." They all nodded in acknowledgement as Nikolai removed her arm from his neck and scooped her up, one arm under her legs and one arm across her back, bridal style.

They made it down the stairs as she stirred, her arm slinging over Nikolais back.

"I've always wanted to be carried like a princess…" She mumbled in her unconscious daze as Wulff and Simmons let out a snikker and Hastings just grunted softly.

"Shut the fuck up." Nikolai spat at his squad as they headed down the corridor towards the front gate.

As they neared the front door they noticed it was shut tight. Simmons simply cracked his knuckles as he holstered his Breaker and stretched his shoulder in an overly dramatic way.

"You're such a God damned drama queen, Major." Simmons turned his head towards Wulff, his hand over his helmet where his mouth would be as he let out a mock gasp.

Wulff just threw his free hand out to the side, letting it smack back against his leg as Simmons chuckled and turned back towards the door. Without so much as a warning Simmons started his full tilt sprint at the door. However, as he neared the door a faint beeping made itself known and Simmons stopped in his tracks before reversing his offensive on the now quite angry door.

"Breaching charge!" Simmons yelled as he returned to the side of Wulff, Nikolai and Hastings.

They all watched the door in anticipation. Not a moment later the door exploded inward showering the hallway in debris. Deciding on the best course of action, Nikolai had placed himself in front causing most of the shrapnel to his his barrier and fall harmlessly on the other side.

"VPD SWAT team, come out with your hands… up?" The SWAT officer that came through the smoke first had lost his train as he spotted four heavily armed soldiers with a large orange projection in front of them.

"Drop your weapons!" One officer behind him shouted as he raised his weapon, prompting Hunter Squad to do the same.

"Lower you damn weapons." Came Simmons order as Wulff and Hastings, albeit hesitantly, lowered their weapons and aimed at the ground.

"Where are the White Fang?!" Questioned the lead officer as they kept their weapons trained on the four targets before them.

"Well, here's some of them." Wulff stated in a deadpan as he scraped off some of the meat splattered on his armor.

"Oh there's one, or part of one at least." Simmons exclaimed as he walked over to the side of the dark hall and lifted up a severed leg, courtesy of his Breaker when himself and Hastings cleared the first floor.

Some of the Officers coughed a little, their familiarity to gore limited compared to actual soldiers. Knocking the image from his mind the Officer looked back as Simmons dropped the leg with a meaty thud on the floor.

"We rescued a hostage here…" Nikolai piped up as he motioned to the girl in his arms.

"Oh, also there's a White Fang lady upstairs, just make a left at the human shaped charcoal and through the red room." Wulff directed as three of the officers passed them and made their way up the stairs.

"Come with us, are you gentlemen Hunters." The four of them paused slightly as the neared the open doorway, allowing light to bathe them.

"You could say that." Simmons shrugged as the light allowed the SWAT Officers to get a better look at the quartet.

The Officers nearly lost their shit as they got a full look at these men that had wiped out the White Fang. The first thing that struck them was that they looked exactly like the intruders at Beacon, but the more pressing observation was the amount of red splatter that covered their weapons and armor.

"It… it's them! You're under arrest." The police yelled, seeing as they were the wanted me from a few incidents.

"We should have just crept back into the darkness Major, you know, like ninjas or some shit!" Came Nikolais slightly nervous statement as they slowly back away from the army of police that was now converging on their position.

"This shit never goes to plan." Simmons sighed as he holstered his rifle, a look of defeat on his face.

This was a first… trouble with cops.

 **A/N: New Characters, new weapons, and trouble with cops Oh My! Well that's it for this weeks chapter, hope you come back in a few and feast your eyes on the next one. Don't forget to leave some feedback.**


	19. A Mishap with Mimics

**A/N: It's short, I know that and I'm sorry. However, this chapter is filled with new developments and other encounters... I guess you'll have to read to find out...  
Also, I would like to shout out a few readers...  
** **Praetorianwarrior: thanks for those kind words!  
TopHatGuy: look who showed up again, haha and thanks for the comments!  
IWhackRabbits: for a nice and supportive review  
and finally IXRetriXI: First off, thank you for an in depth and detailed review!  
And not to mention Westcompany: with the longest (I think) review to date! Also it seems hastings is Lumox's favorite character too**

 **With all this said and done, enjoy the chapter.**

Between the approaching police horde and the very real lack of what they could call and extraction they found themselves between a rock and a hard place.

"What do we do Major?" Nikolai questioned, glancing down at the young woman in his arms as he glanced back to Simmons.

The police have started to move shields up to the front. It would only be a matter of time before the police blocked off the front of the complex with a shield wall.

"First off we hand her over to the police." Simmons motioned to the girl as he swept his shotgun over the police causing them to pause for a brief moment.

"Affirmative," Nikolai nodded as he carefully placed the girl down on the concrete, "Take good care of her." Nikolai called out as he pulled out his Stalwart and backed up with the rest of his squad.

They inched slowly away from the still body of the girl as a pair of paramedics rushed forward and placed her on a stretcher before disappearing behind the wall of police shields. The police had boxed them in, not that it mattered to the four of them.

"Map, get SOD on the horn!" Simmons ordered as he kept his shotgun leveled with the police, aiming at whichever one inched out ahead of the rest.

"Roger that!" Nikolai nodded as he pulled out his radio and locked in the frequency.

"This is Hunter 1-2, the mission has been completed but we have been trapped by native police forces, how copy?" Nikolai waited as the static broke.

"This is SOD, we read you loud and clear. Tac Com is looking for an alternate solution, please stand by, Over." Nikolai glanced to Simmons, their visors meeting as Nikolai nodded.

Simmons returned his eyes to the police, noticing that they had begun a steady advance. It would be a little under a minute before they pushed them back to the building.

"Hunter 1-2, SOD Tac Com is showing a green light on a Rail Cannon strike, Over." Nikolai stowed the radio on his shoulder as he joined the rest of Hunter at their line, firmly tapping Simmons on the shoulder.

"Tac Com is authorising a Rail Cannon Strike." Simmons looked over his shoulder and nodded as he slung his shotgun onto his back and pulled out a stratagem beacon.

Hastings and Wulff both turned to see Simmons punching in the Rail Cannon code as he abruptly turned around and ran back into the police station. He got a few meters down the hallway before turning around and yelling.

"What the hell are you guys waiting for? Come on!" The three of them shrugged as they too lowered their weapons and sprinted back into the building as the police followed hot on their tails.

They jogged over the shattered remains of the door just as Simmons reached the back of the police station. Simmons entered the courtyard as he chucked the Stratagem beacon as hard as he could. The ball rolled and bounced before coming to rest up against the thick concrete wall that separated them from a police related massacre.

"Fire in the hole!" Simmons screamed as he hit the deck, the rest of Hunter diving out the door and onto the ground.

The police kept charging as the stopped in the doorway, a look of confusion on their faces as they saw the four men lying facedown on the ground. However, as one of the police walked out, cuffs in hands, a loud crack shattered the air and the clouds above them opened up as the massive Rail Cannon round smashed into the concrete wall.

The cops were thrown back as Hunter Squad jumped to their feet, a look of satisfaction on Simmons face as he looked upon the shattered reinforced concrete wall before jogging towards the hole. The rest of Hunter jumped to their feet as they watched the police either clutching their ears or groaning in pain from being thrown by the blast.

"Well, let's get a move on gentlemen. It's only a matter of time before they regroup!" Simmons shouted as he brushed some of the pulverized cement off of his shoulder plates.

Nikolai cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as he joined Simmons at the hole with Hastings and Wulff following up the rear. Simmons nodded as they four of them walked through the massive hole in the wall and into the alley behind the station.

"That never get's old." Nikolai mumbled as he looked over his shoulder at the concrete dust and rather large crater the shell had left in the ground.

"Now what?" Wulff questioned as they exited the alley onto the street, taking only a few seconds to cover the distance between them and the alley on the other side of the road.

They entered the alley and stopped moving as a SWAT van drove past the alley. It was just as Simmons had predicted in his mind. They lacked helicopters and only had those Vtol craft they had seen before.

"Alright, we all saw the large square near the center of the city, correct?" Simmons questioned as the other three nodded.

They all pulled out their PDA's and opened the plain aerial map. The four of them showed up between two buildings with weaving alleys and service roads snaking through the city. They zoomed out and eventually saw the wide open square both Simmons and the map on SOD described.

"How the hell do you expect us to get there, I know the dropship is too big to land in the streets around here but is that really the only place we can go?!" Nikolai exclaimed as he looked to the others.

The streets around the part of the city they found themselves in were narrower than the main avenues found in central Vale making extraction almost impossible. However, even landing in the main avenues could be thwarted by SWAT vans and other vehicles while landing in the plaza almost guaranteed an open landing zone.

"Yes, it's the only place out pilots can land without much risk. Unless you want to try an extraction with those damn Grimm hounding us outside the walls." Simmons stated as Nikolai nodded in understanding.

They all closed their PDA's and took an alert stance as Wulff moved to observe the street. The sun was starting to inch its way towards the horizon. They only had a few more hours of light left. This would work in their favor, hopefully. Taking another look he saw a group of police walking down the street. Wulff shook his head and smirked as he returned to the group.

"What's the situation Doc?" Simmons grunted as he checked his PDA again.

"Well, the police are on the lookout and it'll be dark soon. It looks like we gave them quite a scare." Wulff chuckled as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I wonder if their news network has anything to say about this?" Simmons sighed as he tapped his PDA a few times.

The screen paused a little as the blank screen was replaced with the familiar Vale News Network video feed. The news anchor had just taken her seat as she nodded off screen just before clearing her throat.

"Hello Vale, I'm Lisa Lavender and we have another breaking news story for you this evening." She looked over the device in her hands before looking back to the camera.

"Those must be PDA's, I remember seeing that Qrow fellow holding one before the security team arrived back in Ozpin's office." Wulff stated his observation as they all looked back at the screen in Simmons hand.

"Only minutes ago, eyewitness reports placed the unknown assailant linked with both Beacon Academy and the Atlas Military Base at the Police precinct in the Western Suburbs of Vale. However, it appears as though there are four confirmed assailants as we can see from this picture." Simmons and Nikolai both let out sighs as they looked at the picture, Nikolai in front with the young woman in his arms and Simmons behind him pointing his shotgun at the police.

"What is it with the News and the word "Assailant", I mean we didn't attack anyone…anyone good." Nikolai corrected himself slightly with a grin as he kept watching the broadcast.

"The Police Chief has tried to answer the questions posed to him as well as possible with what information he currently has. The Police Chief is scheduled to speak any second. We will join them live in the press room." Lisa turned and looked to the holographic screen behind her as a video of what they assumed the Police press room was popped up.

He was a tall man with greying hair and a short, well-kempt beard that commanded some sort of authority. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept in a good two days as he took the stage in front of a room of reporters. The familiar click of cameras echoed throughout the small space.

"Chief, Chief! What can you tell us about the armored assailants that we have been hearing about?" One reporter yelled as the middle-aged man rubbed his temples with one hand while holding onto the podium with the other.

"We must not jump to conclusions when talking about these men. The word assailant is a strong word and can be taken in a wrong way." He answered in a monotone as he pointed to another reporter.

"What about the attack on the Atlas Outpost!" Another reported questioned as murmurs and clicking cameras got louder.

"From what I have been told by Atlas officials, the Outpost was under assault by Grimm. These 'assailants', as you call them, came to the aid of the reserve soldiers stationed at the outpost. If anything, they would have been killed had the armored men not 'Attacked' the outpost." The Chief finished as the cameras started clicking faster and faster.

Without skipping a beat, the Chief pointed to the next reporter. If it wasn't for the hat and trench coat he wouldn't have stuck out so much. The presence of a small strand of orange hair was visible and didn't help much if he wished to be discreet.

"What about the reports of these men being Grimm infiltrators." As the words left his mouth everyone seemingly lost their shit.

Hands shot up all over the place, cameras sounded like they were taking full auto and the Chief's glare almost cut through the man's chest. Or it would have if the man was still there. Simmons looked to Wulff, Hastings and Nikolai.

"Sir! What Infiltrators?!" Came one reporter's question as another cut it down.

"Is there a type of Grimm the public does not know about?!" The reporter yelled as more clamored for the spotlight.

"Chief!" The torrent of questions and voices washed over the Chief as he tried to re-acquire the reporter's attention.

The video cut out as it returned to Lisa Lavender sitting at her desk, a look of mild shock on her features. She was about to speak as Simmons cut the feed and shook his head.

"Fuck! We were so close to being pardoned by the Chief of the Fucking police! Then some God damn orange haired piece of horse shit comes by and uses the people's fears to turn every jumpy reporter and basement conspiracy theorist against us!" Simmons yelled as he punched the wall in front of him, the bricks cracking slightly.

"Well, not all hope is lost. The police at the station know what we did. They can't…" Nikolai was cut off as a pained scream pierced the air followed by assorted yelling.

Without thinking, they all ran into the street and saw something that made their blood run cold. A SWAT van was parked across the street and the officers were out of the van and right next to it stood a mirror image of Nikolai and Simmons with bloody knives in their hands. Two officers had their necks sliced open and the other two officers were freaking out. One of them ran to the radio.

"This is Team 4, we've been engaged by the Beacon Contacts! We have casualties!" The officer turned around just as a knife entered his chest, the other officer already dead on the ground.

The four of them just watched as the officers body slumped to the ground. The two mimics stood there silently before looking up to face their counterparts. Their visors meeting for only a second before the blare of sirens and the screech of tires around the corner caused Simmons and his squad to turn around.

Several SWAT van rounded the corner as Simmons started to formulate a plan in his mind. But the window they had was too small and the only course of action now would be to bring the mimics down.

With police now rapidly approaching it was fight or flight and the mimics still needed to be dealt with, or so they thought. However, as they turned back around they noticed the two mimics were gone. Almost as if they had never been there in the first place, their only trace being the corpses of the SWAT team.

Not only were there forces in play against them but these were forces that actually went out of their way to make them out as the bad guys. This question would have to wait until later, now they had to run.

"Who the hell were they?" Wulff mumbled as they all looked at the dead police.

The sirens got louder and louder until the screech of tires behind them signaled the police's arrival.

"We can figure that out late, Doc, now we need to move!" Simmons exclaimed as he bolted off the street and into a nearby ally.

The rest of the squad hesitated for only a moment before following suit, the yells of police and sirens drifting down the alley and through the city.

But the real question was plain and simple, Who wanted them as an enemy?

 **A/N: Other forces in play you say? I wonder who it might be... if only I was the author.  
This chapter Is pretty short, I know, maybe if this thing called college wasn't right around the corner I might actually write longer chapters! Well, until next time.**


	20. A Little Stop

**A/N: OH SHIIIIIT, this is a bit late...**

 **My roommate is very sorry for delaying this chapter and other such college excuses.**

 **Now that that's over... here's the 20th chapter in the story!**

"You know running makes us look like we actually killed them, Right?" Wulff shouted as they weaved through the winding alleys towards the park.

"Whether we killed them or not is no longer a factor, the police will kill us the second they see us. Would you rather stop and get shot or rethink our strategy back on the ship?" Simmons returned through their personal comms as they continued their sprint.

Wulff grunted in disagreement as they slowed down at one of the larger streets. Civilians were going about their business in this section of town despite the recent warnings from the news to stay home.

"These people simply don't care." Nikolai stated as he observed a few people enter a cafe and another group exit a clothing store.

"Hungry…" Mumbled Hastings, just quiet enough to pass by his allies ears unnoticed.

"Perhaps they feel safe around here?" Simmons assumed as he turned to his squadmates.

"No matter the case of how they feel, or how safe they are, we still need to get to that park." Wulff stated as he pointed down the street towards the sliver of green through the buildings.

"As long as we don't attract any unneeded attention… where the fuck is Hastings!" Simmons yelled, his helmet containing his outburst, as he swept the alley and was met with a scary lack of Hastings.

They all looked around, Nikolai giving Simmons a sad shrug as Wulff just sighed deeply. A mumble of "Twice in a single week" left Wulffs mouth as he pinched the front of his helmet.

"Ok, as long as he stays in the alleys… NO…" Simmons stopped as he turned around and saw Hastings waltzing in through the front door of the cafe across the street.

They all froze, squatting in the alley as their friend passed a group of mildly concerned Faunus before entering the cafe. Simmons slowly started dying on the inside as Hastings took a seat in the establishment, his blank mask visible through the glass front.

"He didn't…" Nikolai mumbled as he pointed to Hastings.

"Oh… but I think he did, Map. I think he did." Wulff stated in monotone as he slowly stood from his squat.

Simmons and Nikolai followed soon after as they noticed a few people pulling out the PDA's and raising them to their ears. Simmons knew that from the second Hastings walked out they would only have a minute or two before the police were alerted to their position.

"Go, just fucking go…" Simmons yelled as he waved his hand towards Hastings who by now had a rather confused and anxious waitress at the other end of his limited vocabulary.

Nikolai and Wulff broke out in front as Simmons followed up the rear. Several horns honked as Wulff, Nikolai and Simmons weaved across the street. Several near misses later they had reached the other side of the street.

Simmons burst through the door to the cafe to find Hastings, his helmet partially lifted, munching on a breadstick. Simmons looked towards the waitress, a scared look plastered on her face. Nikolai and Wulff let their guns rest at their sides as they took in the situation before them.

"Hastings!" Simmons shouted, a hint of anger present in his voice as the aforementioned soldier whipped his head towards his comrades.

Hastings let out a growl of displeasure as he shoved the remaining breadsticks into his satchel. Nikolai and Wulff looked at each other before shrugging, their confusion very much evident as Simmons turned back to them.

"Hastings loves breadsticks." Simmons muttered as Nikolai and Wulff just stared at the two of them, the whole intensity and urgency of the mission seemingly melting away as they observed a content Hastings and a rather peeved Simmons walking towards them.

"Well, let's get going you two. If we call the shuttle now it'll be there by the time we get there." Nikolai stated as he pulled out his radio, his finger flying across the buttons as he raised it to his helmet.

Simmons moved to the window and looked out as several cop cars made their way around the corner with a SWAT van following close behind.

"Well, you better get that call done soon, Map." Simmons quipped as he shuffled back from the door, half racking his shotgun and making sure a shell was loaded.

"Why are you doing that?" Nikolai pointed to Simmons shotgun, a look of slight worry on his face.

"They'll stop at nothing to neutralize us now after what those mimics did." Simmons said in a montone, any hint of the previous mood gone.

"Weapons free, non-lethal shots only." Simmons continued as he looked to Nikolai, a thumbs up was thrown his way as the radioman put away his radio and stood up.

Hastings reluctantly nodded and Wulff grunted as they both readied their weapons, checking their chambers. Satisfied with their weapons states they put on blank expressions and took care knocking the metal tables onto their sides before getting behind them. Simmons remained at the front of the cafe, listening to the sirens approach.

"Transport is on it's way, suffice to say we might have a hot LZ." Nikolai stated the obvious as the SWAT van screeched to a halt 30 meters from the front of the cafe, the sirens and flashing lights dominating the street.

They watched patiently as the SWAT officers filed out of the van and took cover behind parked cars and the van itself. The regular officers parked facing the cafe and disembarked, using their doors as shields and readying their pistols.

"There's a lot of them, Major. What should we do?" Nikolai questioned as he watched the police continue their preparations.

"We could leave through the back… but that would put us further from the park." Simmons was weighing his options as he observed the cafe they were in.

"Hostages?" Wulff half questioned and half suggested.

Wulff was cut off as a fist collided with his face. He tumbled backwards over a chair, flipping head over heels before coming to a stop, the metal on his helmet dented.

"What. The. Fuck!" Wulff started as he looked up, his eyes meeting a ridged Simmons.

He could not see his eyes but he felt the furious gaze punching straight through his head. He knew the Helldiver code and despite it he suggested taking civilians hostage in an effort to escape.

"What cowardice you speak!" Simmons seethed through clenched teeth as Nikolai and Hastings watched on in silent audience.

They knew the unspoken code and despite their friendship with the medic they felt not a single twinge of sympathy.

"I NEVER, want to hear that leave your mouth again! Civilians are not to be used as shields… we are HELLDIVERS, and we will uphold our values to the last breath." Simmons was furious, his hand planted on his pistol.

"I am sorry, Sir. It is my fault for sullying The Code." Wulff hung his head in shame while still rubbing the dent in his faceplate.

Seeing this as a satisfactory answer Simmons nodded and returned to observing the police, just as a small canister shattered the front window of the cafe. Looking around he noticed that the four civilians once in the building had disappeared.

"They will begin their assault soon." Nikolai sighed out as the canister hissed, a thick white gas escaping into the air, the entire dining area of the small cafe quickly filling with the gas.

Each of the members of Hunter tapped their helmets and activated their thermals. A quiet jingle signaled the opening of the front door and a few pairs of boots belonging to officers of the VPD SWAT team.

"Watch your spacing… they could be anywhere." Came the muffled call of a SWAT officer as his four man team entered the building.

"Man why didn't VI handle this… you saw what they did…" Started one officer, "Shut it! Just watch for the targets." Hissed another as they swept their rifles over the flipped tables and chairs of the cafe.

Simmons and Hastings had hastily retreated back to behind the pastries counter and were watching as the four man team passed Nikolai and Wulff, leaving only a few feet to spare.

"Storm, this is Scalpel Actual… we have no sight of the targets. How Copy?" The officer released the radio as the squeak of high density rubber on the linoleum floor caused the officers to jump slightly.

A loud grunt, a flying heat signature, and the crash of metal plating and kevlar later their leader was down on the ground trapped in a giant bear hug courtesy of Nikolai.

"Now!" Simmons yelled as he popped up from behind the counter and took aim at the nearest officer with his pistol.

They had all pulled out their pistols as their primary weapons would most likely end up mortally wounding, or just outright killing the officers.

Simmons swung his pistol down and popped off a burst from the pistol, the rounds tearing through the air before slamming into the second officer's knee. He received a grunt of pain before hopping the counter and running up to the disorientated officer.

Using his knife his quickly jammed the blade into his rifle and tore it away from the officer before ripping the gas mask off of his face. The tear gas assaulted his respiratory system and eyes as he fell to the ground. Two down and two to go.

Hastings appeared right behind Simmons as the third officer raised his rifle, intent on ending Simmons then and there.

"Down…" Hastings grunted as Simmons smirked, his reflexes kicking in as he dropped to one knee.

The officer looked up from Simmons as the rapid smack of hardened rubber soles on the floor echoed from behind him. Through the smoke emerged a sprinting Hastings who left the ground, planting his hand on Simmons back before spinning and delivering a flying kick to the officer's chest. The officer hit the ground as Hastings stuck the landing.

"Thanks… Look out!" Simmons yelled as Hastings turned around to be met with a burst from the last officer's rifle.

The rounds crunched against the chest plate as the officer received a burst to the knee from Hastings who had spun and drawn his pistol. As the officer fell clutching his knee Hastings looked to the two bloody holes in his chest.

"Fuck…" Was all that escaped Hastings mouth as he slumped down to the ground.

Wulff was the first one to his side as Nikolai finished his wrestling match with the officer, a punch to the police mans face ended his struggling. Nikolai and Simmons quickly made their way over as they heard the officer's radio crackle to life.

"We have shots confirmed, Scalpel how copy?! Scalpel… shit, we have rescue teams inbound." The radio cut out as Simmons cursed under his breath.

"This is going to hurt, Hastings. Don't kill me later." Hastings grunted as Simmons hoisted him up over his shoulders and stood up.

"Come on guys, we gotta get out of here. The transport's on it's way." Nikolai stated as he rushed to the door at the side of the building behind the counter.

"This should lead to the alley." Wulff guessed as he kicked the door outward.

The latch and hinges shattered as the door flew into the alley before them. They looked to both sides before seeing two officers standing in the street looking down the alley.

"Fuck, run! This way… Go, Go, Go!" Wulff shouted as the officer yelled at them, their pistols leaving their holsters.

Simmons took point and ran, grunting a few times as the not-so-light Hastings bounced on his shoulders.

"You know how much you weigh… a lot, because calling a Hellpod fat is impolite." Simmons quipped as Hastings delivered a weak punch to his back eliciting a pained groan and a smirk from the near-mute.

"In here, quickly." Nikolai shouted as he pointed to a door to their right.

The park was just down the alley, but to run into the park without the transport there would be suicide, literally. Instead of running around the park like a bunch of headless chickens Nikolai had decided the best course of action would to be waiting in a nearby store.

The door splintered as they entered. To bad it was alarmed.

"Oh son of a cock!" Simmons yelled as the bells rang out across the park, citizens and guards looked towards the store as the piercing shriek echoed across the park.

However, upon entering the main hall of the building they realized why it was alarmed so well. Vials and tubes of what they could only assume was colored sand lined the walls. Simmons placed Hastings down as they security shutters lowered on the front of the store.

"Well, that's a good thing and a bad thing." Wulff chuckled as he walked around the storefront.

"What the hell is this stuff anyways?" Nikolai questioned as he poked the vials and tapped on the tubes.

A solid tap from Nikolai caused the tube of red "Sand" to glow brightly before dying down. This caused him to jump back and Hastings to mutter something.

"What was that? Hastings?" Wulff kneeled next to Hastings who pointed at the crystals behind him.

"Dust…" Hastings coughed as he nodded.

"Simmons, Hastings says that all this is Dust!" Wulff stood up quickly as the sound of sirens could be heard getting louder through the door.

"Hastings said this shit was volatile… right?" A smirk grew on Simmons lips as a devious plan started building itself in his mind.

Nikolai and Wulff were too busy worrying about Simmons plan that they failed to notice Hastings crawling towards one of the colored vials that laid stacked on the shelf. They were also to busy to notice the skylight open until a dozen ropes slid down and landed all around the room.

"Oh Cocks!" Nikolai yelled out as a SWAT officer dropped right on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Shit, rappellers… gah!" Wulff was cut off as he too was pinned.

Simmons whipped his head around and saw an officer coming towards him. He dodged the grab and delivered an elbow to the man's face before a baton cracked across his faceplate, staggering him just enough to let two officers wrestle him to the ground.

"Three targets in custody…" One officer started.

"Fuck You!" Nikolai spat as a boot shot into his stomach.

"One complying…" The Officer finished with a smirk as he looked at the other officers who were continuing to secure the building.

"This is HQ, wait… you said 3 targets? There were 4 reported at the New Dawn Cafe…" The radio was cut off as an Officer called out from behind the counter.

"Uhm…. guys….. What the hell…" The Officer seemed petrified as he maintained his gaze with whatever was behind the counter.

The Officer on the radio sighed as he walked over, a look of indifference on his face as he neared the counter. However, the look was short lived as he laid eyes on what the other Officer had seen.

"My god…. What in Dust's name…" He mumbled as the shuffling of boots and the sound of Dust hitting the floor could be heard.

From behind the counter rose Hastings, a few empty vials in his hands and his mask half removed. Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff just watched in fascinated glee with tired eyes as Hastings dumped another vial of the Dust into his mouth, chewed and swallowed before letting out a muffled burp.

"How." Came some of the officers as they started to back up from the creature before them.

"There's no way that's possible… he should be dead!" Yelled a female Officer as several other started to panic as well, pressing themselves against the locked door.

"No, he's Hastings… but that dead part should be right, wasn't he bleeding before?" Simmons casually observed as he looked to Nikolai who gave him a shrug.

The officers holding them down started to loosen their grip as the monster walked towards them, his mask now securely back in place.

"Full." Hastings grunted as he patted his belly, the vials clanking to the ground as he dropped them.

They all looked back to the officers, smiles on their faces. However, they failed to notice the glow that surrounded Hastings. The glow that was getting brighter by the second.

"Well, now then… I guess we should…." Simmons froze as he turned around, "That's not good." He finished in a dry tone as Hastings was now burning as bright as Christmas tree.

Hastings just cocked his head and shrugged, completely unaware of his own change. Was it for better or for worse? I guess they would find out.

 **A/N: Well, expect the next chapter in a more timely manner and actually on saturday!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! Every little bit helps.**


	21. An Electrical Outage

**A/N: Hey guys! This time the chapter was released on a saturday... but it's a short chapter and I am very sorry for that. But hey, that's what college does, it messes with your scheduale.**

 **Now that that's all said and done, enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think!**

Everyone sat there in awe, some shielding their eyes from the bright glow that emanated from Hastings.

"That's new…" Simmons mumbled as he stared at Hastings with a blank expression plastered on his face under his helmet.

Suddenly, Hastings grew brighter and then the light was gone. He looked at his hands and flipped them over. The murmurs of the police were the only sounds being made in the shop as the alarm had been silenced. Although if you looked hard enough you could see a faint light shining from behind the polarised lenses of the helmet.

"Hastings?" Wulff question cautiously as he looked towards the police and then back to his ally.

However, as Wulff took a step towards Hastings a small arc of electricity shot between his fingers, the small discharge coating his upper torso in a faint blue light. The police couldn't tell from his motionless gaze at his hand, but Hunter sure as hell could tell that a sadistic smile was creeping it's way across Hastings face.

Hastings took a step forward, electricity arcing off his boots and into the tiled floor. Long scratches of ash dug into the tile as he moved forward. His hands held in front of his face as if he were in awe at the power he now held.

"I know I didn't use up all my vodka rations…" Nikolai stated in shock as he watched the electrified Hastings slowly move towards them.

The rest of them had hopped to their feet as the SWAT Officers at the front of the store managed to pry the metal shutter away from the entrance. Their fear overriding their senses as they pushed their way through the metal, the door revealing itself as one of them got down and kicked out the glass. They left their weapons where they had dropped them, not caring about anything but getting the hell out of there.

"I guess that gives us our escape route." Simmons shrugged as he motioned to the newly destroyed shutters.

"Although that hole is a bit small. Hastings, can you do anything about that?" Wulff looked back at the glowing Hastings, electricity arcing across his suit and between the plates of his armor.

"I can try…" Hastings growled as he stomped over to the door, his actions seeming to become heavier, almost as if he was magnetized to the ground.

Hastings approached the shutter and looked it up and down. He brought his hand to the chin of his helmet and gave it a good scratch before holding his hands straight out, palms open towards the security shutter.

Sure enough, electricity started to arc into the metal. The lights in the building started to flicker as the energy coursed through the electronics connected to the shutter. Simmons, Wulff and Nikolai looked on with mild interest as the metal started to melt. The energy coursing through it was clearly too much for it to handle.

"There…" Hastings pointed to the opening he had melted through the shutter, bolts of electricity arcing from his pointed finger into the metal that still surrounded the door.

"Thanks, Hunter mover out!" Simmons bellowed as he pulled out his shotgun and skirted around the electrified Hastings, not willing to come in contact with the clearly powerful surge that originated from his body.

They reached the door and kicked open the cracked and ashen glass. The first thing they saw was the presence of several heavy police trucks and some menacing looking SWAT units. Kitted out with shields and what looked like stun batons.

They walked out of the store and the sounds of safeties clicking echoed out as the police readied themselves. A shroud of tension fell over everyone as the members of Hunter observed their opponents. In the distance the familiar sound of VTOL engines droned. Their ride was approaching rapidly and they needed to clear them out.

"We need to get through them… Our rides almost here." Nikolai and Wulff nodded as the crackling of electricity behind them started to get louder.

From behind one of the vans came a rather tall man wearing riot gear. In his hands was a megaphone. He brought the megaphone to his mouth and spoke.

"Drop your weapons and surrender now!" The man's voice boomed as civilians watched from the police line a few dozen yards down the road on both sides.

"Surrender now or we... will open... fire..." The man trailed off at the same time the crackling got louder behind the three of them.

"Oh Dust…" The man dropped his megaphone and looked on in awe as Hastings exited the building, the crackle of electricity and the blue arcs surrounding him.

"What's the matter… is it Hastings? Yeah he does this kind of thing." Simmons brushed it off nonchalantly as he threw his thumb towards Hastings.

The police started to lose their nerve at the appearance of this man. The appearance of a small drone above went unnoticed as Hastings push forward.

 **Vale Police Headquarters**

The police Chief sat there, an emotionless stare on his face as he watched the live feed playing out before him.

"How?" He questioned as he continued to bore holes in the screen.

"Heroes, killers and now consuming Dust? These men will never cease to amaze us." Another man spoke, pausing as he raised his mug to his lips.

"Ozpin… these men attacked Beacon, how can you be so… calm about this whole situation?!" The Chief sputtered out at the Headmaster as he looked between both Ozpin and the display.

It was indeed the strangest thing he had ever seen in his life. Here these seemingly normal men were stopping the White Fang one moment and facing off against the police another. Not to mention consuming Dust, something that would kill even the strongest man, without an aura themselves.

"It seems as though one of them has developed a semblance from consuming the dust. One of my students, a Ms. Nora Valkyrie can channel electricity, yes, but she cannot outwardly project it." Ozpin paused for another sip as the Chief listened to his words.

"How can we stop them, my men do not hesitate to shoot grimm, but a human with the abilities of a monster? How do you fight this?" His anger showing through his clenched teeth.

"Look's like we will see soon enough." Ozpin stated in a monotone as he pointed to the display, a small smirk creeping onto his lips.

From the clouds came a large vehicle. Though it looked like a Bullhead the design was entirely different, though appearing blocky it was substantially faster than a Bullhead. It dropped rapidly before flying low over the heads of the police, the four men looking quite relieved, their stances loosening as the vehicle touched down on the green grass of the park.

"What the Hell is going on." The Chief could only mumble as he watched the sides of the transport open.

The camera focused back on the police blockade, or what remained of it. The Chief looked on as his jaw hit the table. Ozpin's eyes opened just a little bit wider as he looked upon the large swath cut in the line of cars and SWAT vans.

It looked as though everything had been picked up and thrown aside. The addition of a few dozen wounded officer lying around on the ground, blood pooling around some of them, caused the Chief to recoil slightly.

"Damnit … they cannot escape." The chief picked up the scroll and connected.

"Chief?" Came a voice from the other side, the sound of yelling and the screams of civilians poured through the speaker.

"Do not let them escape! They cannot be..." He bellowed but was quickly cut off as the officer grunted.

"Chief… the men are petrified, they refuse to move. Hell, even I wouldn't go up against that demon! They wiped out the shields and tossed us aside like it was nothing." The SWAT officer shouted back as the scroll hung up.

"Well, it looked like an aura is no longer enough." Ozpin stated with a small sip as he stood and made towards the exit of the room.

"Oz, what do we do… our people aren't safe anymore. With the White Fang and now these Monsters!" Ozpin stopped a few feet from the door and looked over his shoulder.

"Though they may be monsters it appears as though they harbor a hat for both the Grimm and the White Fang." Ozpin pulled out his scroll and tapped a few times before sliding it back into his pocket.

Ozpin left the room as the Chiefs scroll buzzed, the main display in the room quickly changing to show assorted reports from outside vale. Most of the pages belonged to outlying towns and cities but the most prevalent publisher was _The Waterson Word._

' _White Fang Outpost Turned Graveyard'_ read one of the articles. Another read ' _City Saved by Mysterious Soldiers_ '. The Chief continued to read the pages, each one pointing to a mysterious group of soldiers that seemingly popped out of nowhere and dealt with the Grimm or White Fang in the area and then disappeared without a trace.

 **A Few Moments Ago**

"There it is!" Nikolai yelled as the transport peaked through the clouds.

"This is your time, Hastings. Don't kill anyone." Simmons said with a broken smile to the oversized battery behind him.

Hastings grunted as he stepped forward, the police aiming their rifles at him. They seemed hesitant at first but soon gathered themselves up as one officer fired. The rounds sped through the air before simply halting. Blue bolts surrounded the rounds floating in front of Hastings. They seemed to be trapped in a cage of electricity.

Hastings cocked his head before holding his hand out, the rounds dropping to the ground. The clank of the material on pavement was the only sound that echoed down the street. Hastings simply smiled as he held his hand out towards the barricade. What happened next sent the police lines into chaos.

The vans and squad cars started to lift off the ground as the police scattered away from their vehicles. Hastings simply flicked his hand and the vehicles shot off to the sides, crashing down onto the ones that still sat on the ground.

It was at that moment the police started to return fire. Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff all took cover and opened fire on the unorganized and broken police forces. By the time the actual shooting had gotten underway a majority of the civilians had already retreated indoors or out of harm's way.

"Doc, on your right. Keep up that fire!" Simmons barked as Wulff nodded, his rifle sweeping to the right and forcing a shielded officer back behind a SWAT van.

The transport had started it's descent as the engines rotated downwards. It started to lower itself slowly before dropping the last dozen feet, smashing into the ground. The sides opened as Simmons and Nikolai rushed ahead towards the awaiting transport.

"What about Hastings?" Wulff shouted as he pointed to Hastings, his movement slowed as he focused on the police behind them.

"Shit, what do we… wait… what the hell is happening to him?!" Simmons shocked exclamation caused Nikolai and Wulff to look at Hastings.

The police seemed to stop firing as well, the intense glow coming from behind Hastings helmet and the lack of electricity arcing away from him was worrying as well. They looked on as Hastings hand grasped onto his helmet before the metal on his suit started to melt, his body quickly giving one final twitch before a bright flash cut across the field.

Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff removed their hands from their visors as they watch the form of Hastings crumbled into dust, the slight wind carrying off the particles. His entire form evaporating into the wind. Within a few seconds he was gone.

"That's not fucking normal." Nikolai mumbled out as he stepped onto the transport, a tiny subconscious twinge of fear and worry tugged at the back of his mind.

Wulff and Simmons quickly entered the transport as the door closed. They looked out the windows at the scorched spot where Hastings stood a moment ago. They had to admit they worried slightly as the transport started to lift off the ground.

 **A/N: Well shit, that was pretty gosh darn short... I hope the next chapters I output reach back up to at least 4K words.**

 **Take care and until next time.**


	22. Set In Motion

**A/N: Here is the 22nd chapter in the Helldivers story, I hope you all enjoy this one and don't forget to leave a review!**

The familiar jostle that shook the three of them as the transport docked with SOD alerted them to their arrival. Simmons was the first to unbuckle as he hit the door release.

"I hope we have some time to relax." Nikolai grumbled as the door started to open, his prayer, however, had not been answered.

It was chaos through the door. Security personals were running around the deck getting into various positions as technicians and scientists were both scuttling around past the door to the hanger at break neck speeds talking their heads off.

"What in Democracy is going on here?" Wulff questioned as simmons reached out and grasped a guard on the shoulder, a look of terror in his eyes as he looked into the Helldiver faceplate before him.

"U-uhm Uh, Sir!" He snapped up into a salute faster than Simmons would have liked.

"What in all that is holy is going on here?!" Simmons shouted his question out over the din of the hanger, the guard seeming to avert his gaze.

"I-I am in no position to offer answers at this point in time." With that the guard saluted and turned before sprinting off to catch up to his waiting squad.

"Ok, but what the actual fuck is going on?" Nikolai grumbled as he threw his arms out at his sides and let them flop back, the lack of an actual answer putting them all on edge.

scientist spotted them through the door and made his way into the hanger, a clipboard in his hands.

"We have an emergency!" The scientist stated in a worried tone as Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff all gave him their attention.

"It's about Hastings, Doctor O'Neil and Miss Timely will get you up to speed on what has happened. For Democracy." The scientist salutes them trio before turning to leave, O'Neil and Ashley rounding the corner behind him.

"For Democracy!" The trio salute back as the scientist left them standing there, waiting for the only two people on the ship willing to tell them what the hell's going on.

"Simmons," Ashley started before being cut off by the Helldiver.

"Arthur." His voice dripping out from behind his mask.

"Sorry, Arthur, we have an issue." Ashley mumbled slightly as she corrected her slight mistake, Nikolai and Wulff smirking behind their masks at his persistence.

Believe it or not, Simmons actually cares little for any title he receives and prefers a more relaxed conversation. In fact, unless the situation calls for the use of his titles or ranks he tries to appear as humble as possible in conversation especially when among those he knows.

Ashley motioned for them to follow. The three Helldivers looked between one another before following Ashley close behind. It was a minute of walking and passing through security checkpoints before the silence ran on a little too long.

"Ashely, what is going on?" Simmons blurted out, cutting through the silence like a finely sharpened blade.

"It's… hard to explain." Ashley started, faltering slightly as she tried to find the words to describe the situation.

"Awd be better if ya saw it ye'self Simmons." O'Neil spat out with as he gave a small gesture with his hands down the hall towards the cloning chamber where the four of them had been hundred of times before.

However, it was not the cloning chamber itself but the room next to the chamber. Outside of the second room stood a dozen scientists and technicians. They busied themselves with moving in and out of the room and talking amongst each other. As Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff approached they quieted down, a tense air hanging over the three of them as they neared the door.

"What's in this room?" Nikolai questioned as he pointed to the door they stood outside of.

"That would be cloning storage." O'Neil appeared right next to the three of them as he motioned to the door.

"It might be a little late for this but… have you ever seen yourself?" Ashley's voice was somber, a near opposite of the lighthearted tone she carried before.

The three Helldivers stood there in silence as they cocked their heads to the side at the same time as if the reaction was coordinated.

"Ourselves... what do you mean." Simmons questioned as Sylvester stepped forward and swiped his card on the security panel.

"Clearance level sufficient, Super Earth High Command, Authorized Access. Proceed Doctor O'Neil." The robotic voice chimed as O'Neil motioned into the room as if he were holding the door.

"This may be a little… shocking." He muttered as the three Helldivers entered before him, a few technicians moving in with them before quickly turning down two of the branching paths of the cramped space in front of them.

They walked down the dimly lit path in front of them. After stomping down the path, the only light coming from the emergency lights that lined the ceiling, they finally reached a long brightly lit hallway. At the end of the hallway was a large blast door. The four pairs of boots falling in synch as they neared the large black door.

"What's behind that?" Sylvester turned to face the medic walking besides him, his eyes blank as he took a deep breath.

"You… et's all of ya… n' Hastings." His words caused the three of them to falter, their steps falling out of synch.

"You mean…"

"Aye, you're… I'll letcha see fer yaselves." Sylvester let out a tired sigh as he swiped his card and placed his hand on the scanner to the right of the door.

"Identity Confirmed! Sylvester O'Neil, Chief Scientist aboard the SEN Sword of Damocles. Access Granted!" The voice cheerily blurted out as the door hissed, the locks in the center of the door sliding out of the holes.

The door stood silent for a moment before sliding open completely. The three Helldivers took a moment to take in what they were seeing. A large pillar rose from the center of the pentagon shaped room where four round cryo stasis pods were situated.

Without any words spoken the three of them stepped forward, their eyes glued to the beds surrounding the pillar. The glass of each bed covered in thick frost and at the foot of each was a control panel. Each bed also had a plaque bolted onto the foot of it, just above the control panel.

"What is this?" Simmons mumbled as they approached the beds.

Simmons gently wiped away the frost on one of the pods revealing a peaceful face. Simmons recoiled slightly as the frost quickly accumulated, the face receding back behind the icy shroud.

"Are they…" Simmons started as Nikolai and Wulff watched silently, all of them slightly dazed by the revelation.

"You, yes they are. Or should I say they are the originals." Nikolai and Wulff whipped their heads around and saw a calm looking Ashley standing in the door.

She cleared her throat as she walked into the room and made her way around the pillar in the middle. Simmons slowly snapped out of his slight daze and made to follow Ashley, Nikola and Wulff following as well. They came to the pod on the far side and saw the control panel of the pod flashing with many different kinds of warning messages, all of which could be boiled down to "Something's Wrong….Very wrong".

"So what's the problem here?" Nikolai questioned as Sylvester locked eyes with him.

"From what we can tell, an outside source is tampering with Hastings genetic code. Something we have never experienced before. Suffice to say at this point cloning Hastings is unadvised as something could go, very, very wrong." Ashley crossed her arms over her chest as she looked between the three Helldivers before her.

"Additionally, you three are taking the whole cloning thing quite well." Ashley gave a small smile as Wulff responded .

"Out of all the things we've encountered, seeing the real you and knowing you're just a clone is pretty low on the scale of weirdness." Wulff quipped as Simmons and Nikolai just chuckled.

"So what you're saying is that Hastings is… not coming back?" Simmons tone took a turn towards fear as he questioned his friends possible return.

"Not exactly Arthur, he may be out for now… but perhaps we could source answers from the planet. The only thing preventing us from saving him is a strange force emanating from his body." A frown popped up on Ashley's face as she started pacing.

"Aura." Nikolai mumbled.

"Pardon?" Sylvester and Ashley both noticed the small word leave Nikolai's mouth.

"Aura, it's something that the people of Remnant all have, from civilians to military. Perhaps Hastings has somehow generated this Aura." Nikolai stroked his chin as he grumbled on, Sylvester and Ashley listening as he spoke.

"Maybe a scientist on the planet has had a problem like this… maybe they solved the problem and we can contact them to get Hastings back!" Wulff blurted out as Simmons nodded, Wulffs idea sounding more and more reasonable as he thought.

"Wait, you should really think this over…" Ashley started before Simmons held his hand up to silence her.

"Hastings has been a member of this team for the longest time and he is a dear friend to us all, most of us," Simmons shot Nikolai a glare as he grunted in mock disagreement, "And we will stop at nothing to get him back. And if by some chance there is someone that can help us get him back… by God we will try our hardest before admitting defeat." Simmons finished with a flash of his cape as he spun around and marched out of the room, Nikolai and Wulff following close behind.

Ashley just watched the three of them walk out through the blast door as it slammed closed behind them. She turned to her left and looked up at Sylvester, a calculating and quite worried expression making its way onto his face.

"Ya think ehy'll 'andle et al'right?" Sylvester questioned as he returned Ashley's concerned stare.

"I don't know, they seem close enough to Hastings that they'd go to hell using a one way ticket just to save him. I absolutely adore their camaraderie, it's nothing short of what a Helldiver should do for an ally." Ashley just watched the metal door as the muffled clanks of the trio's boots got quieter and quieter.

 **20 Minutes Later**

Simmons sat at the head of the table, chin resting on intertwined fingers as his elbows rest on the table. He let out a faint sigh before looking to Nikolai on his right and Wulff on his left. Nikolai had his arms crossed over his chest and sat slumped in his chair while Wulff sat upright in his chair, his arms folded on the table.

Around the rectangular table sat the heads of every department on the ship. Jonathan Fredrikson, SOD's Chief Communications Officer sat on the right side of the table, his face plastered on as an emotionless mask considering the gravity of the situation. Next to him sat Ashley Timely, SOD's Chief Mechanic, she too wore an emotionless face as the stared down the Chief Science Officer seated across from her, Sylvester O'Neil. Sylvester, SOD's Chief Science Officer just let out a huff as he frowned.

Next to Sylvester sat the infamous Kane, Chief Engineer on SOD. Her normally rambunctious attitude replaced by one of a more sullen tone. She silently listened to the lights flicker in the lamp above them as a few more officers holding a Chief position walk into the room and take a seat.

The other officers were the Chiefs of the Logistic, Medical, Weapon and Navigational departments to name a few. After a few seconds everyone was situated and ready to hear what the acting Admiral had to say. Simmons cleared his throat as he stood from his seat, the shutter behind him raising and revealing the planet of Remnant floating below them, the broken moon off to the side of the ship.

"By now all of you have probably been informed of the situation we are facing. A Helldiver, a soldier of Super Earth and her Colonies, is in danger of never seeing another day." This elicited a few nervous murmurs from the less informed staff on hand.

Simmons raised his hand and the room slipped back into silence, save the light flickering in the ceiling.

"He has been affected by a material on the planet that has somehow changed the structure of his body back on the ship. Giving him what the locals call and "Aura". As far as we can tell, this is the only thing stopping us from bringing him back." This caused James Gardener, the Chief Medical Officer, to grimace as his face scrunched in thought.

"As it stands he is unable to be revived and will be out of service until we can rectify this issue." Simmons looked around as he firmly planted his hands on the table, "Although, it appears as though a nation on Remnant, Atlas, has been working on a top secret project to transfer the Aura of one subject into another. What I've been thinking is that we could use this technology to transfer Hastings' Aura away from his body and return it to it's previous state." Simmons stood there in silence, his hands still planted on the table as he leaned over and looked across the faces around the table.

The room sat in deep silence as they all mulled over Simmons words.

"From what I can gather, this would require kidnapping a possibly well known scientist from a major nation on the planet… you do understand that, right?" Kane spoke out over the silence, everyone placing their full attention on her.

"A well known scientist, but a scientist working on a top secret project… I don't think Atlas would want to disclose the reason the scientist is so important to them." Wulff just smirked as he finished speaking.

He was right and everyone knew it. The Atlas Government would never disclose a missing scientist to the public, let alone a neighboring country. They would hopefully be too afraid to act and wait for a sign, if any, that the scientist was still alive before mobalising any kind of rescue operation.

"I know it's a hell of a stupid plan, but this is the only way we can get him back. I don't want to lose anyone, let alone Hastings. Losing a Helldiver is an unacceptable outcome. Yes, Helldivers do die, their ships destroyed by the Illuminate and Cyborgs but the Helldivers have persevered as both a power and as a people. We fight for democracy and every time we lose a Helldiver we lose a vital weapon in Super Earths arsenal." Simmons shouted as he neared the end of his speech, his arm snapping up to his helmet in a perfect salute.

Those seated at the table rocketed to their feet, their hand snapping to their head as Simmons continued.

"For Hastings, For Democracy, For Super Earth!" He shouted out as the table recited his words.

"For Hastings, For Democracy, For Super Earth!" They echoed as they dropped the salute.

"I want maps, I want plans for buildings, I want convoy time tables and I want resources! We will get him back!" Simmons barked his orders as the officers started to leave the room, a new purpose flowing through their being as they went their separate ways.

Simmons lowered his hand, Nikolai and Wulff standing beside him. The room was silent as the trio soon found themselves alone.

"Well said, Simmons…" Wulff placed his hand on Simmon's shoulder, "We will get him back." Wulff finished as he gave him a firm pat and removed his hand.

"Can't wait to see Hastings again… I kinda miss that bastard." Nikolai chuckled as he gave Simmons a simple thumbs up.

The three of them moved to exit the room. However, something had been set in motion. Little did anyone know that the fuze had been laid and the match was in striking position.

 **A/N: With that we conclude chapter 22 and await the 23rd. Leave your thoughts in a review.**


	23. Terror Reigns from Above

_**A/N: Nothing really to say here but enjoy the chapter!**_

 **One month later**

Four white-washed armored cars rumbled down the street, each one bearing the emblem of the Schnee Family on it's side. A standard Schnee convoy on it's way out of the town from the SDC's central headquarters in Atlas.

Inside, four soldiers bumped around in their seats as the APC made it's way down the wide city street. Billboards for "Shi-nee Toothpaste" and "Samurai Shampoo" dotted the skyline high above the convoy. The suburbs of Atlas were clean and well kempt, with police and robots patrolling anywhere you looked.

One of the soldiers silently turned to the small TV in the APC and flicked the channel button a few times before stopping on the news. A small man in an Atlas Police uniform stood next to a reporter, a small town in the distance behind them.

"Do you have anything to say to civilians listening right now, Officer?" The reporter held out her microphone as the Officer looked into the camera, a warm smile on his face.

"Well, from what I can say if you see three heavily armed and armored men with capes get somewhere safe. Atlas has seen a rise is these attacks over the past few weeks, each ending in a lot of people in critical condition, not that many deaths." The officer pulled off his cap and pushed back his hair before placing the cap back on his head.

"So, these men… do they belong to the white fang?" The reporter questioned as the officer chuckled slightly, his arms rising before resting across his chest.

"We'd say they were working for the White Fang if they hadn't destroyed several White Fang hideouts already. I mean, we get a call for a White Fang sighting, we get there and are met with a graveyard, not a single White Fang left alive." The officer shuttered as he looked back to the reporter.

"Well, that's all we have. Thank you Officer Opal. Atlas wide security levels have been on the rise and police patrols have been tripled. For your safety, don't forget the mandatory evening curfew that begins at 10pm sharp." The Tv flicked off as the soldier leaned back in his seat, his automatic rifle resting in between his legs.

"So what do you think about it?" The three of them swung their heads to face the soldier standing out the top of the APC, his head poking back through the hatch.

He looked across the four of them before shrugging and popping back up through the hatch, returning to his gun position. He looked back up to the front of the convoy and waved to the soldier in the front APC. The soldier in the front waved back and gave an "A-OK" signal before turning back around.

"I don't know… these assholes have been after very specific pieces of data." A voice called out over the comms.

"Commander Gould, what do you mean?" The soldiers turned on their headset comms as as the commander opened the hatch leading back into the passenger compartment.

His size made it a little hard to enter the rear of the APC, but eventually he made it back. He moved around a little before taking a seat in one of the open seats.

"Those attacks on the White Fang all had something in common… the maps were missing. The White Fang are known for keeping detailed maps on our patrols and convoys whenever they can." The Commander eased off as another soldier piped up, a slight twinge of nervousness in his voice.

"So what are they up to?" His question was met with silence as the soldiers looked around to each other.

"Well, as you have been briefed on, one of these APC's has a very important person on board. He is a valuable asset to both the Schnee Dust Company and our military." This caused some of the soldiers to tense up.

"So you're saying that… this convoy is a target?" The commander hesitated before slowly nodding.

They sat in silence as the commander slapped his knee and stood up. He turned and made his way back through the hatch into the front of the APC, leaving the soldiers to mull in the back of the APC. The APC's weaved in and out of traffic, their lights and sirens used sparingly.

"Wait, what the hell… why are we going out of the city?" One of them questioned as he looked out the window and saw the city slowly start to melt away.

The convoy had indeed started to move out of the city and had just entered the suburban shopping district. The sun hung above them in the sky, a distant clock ringing out as the hand struck One. The thick gray clouds that hung above them told of an impending storm. The commander came back over the comms, making the soldiers jump slightly.

"We're headed around the main city, in case… they attack us." The commander droned on as the expensive stores and shopping centers started to populate the scenery around them.

In the front of the APC Commander Gould pulled out the long range radio and flipped over to the Atlas Military main channel. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Any and all units on this channel, this is Commander Gould. My convoy has just entered the western end of Atlas Shopping district 4. This convoy is a priority One escort detail. Under edict 4, this convoy takes precedent over any tasks currently underway." Gould released the transmitter, the radio crackling through the cabin as he waited for a response.

"Roger that Commander Gould, this is strike force Stingray ready and standing by for air support." Gould sighed in relief as he now had some form of aerial support.

He rubbed his temples and took a deep breath before bringing the transmitter up to his mouth. However, as he pressed the transmitter the radio crackled to life.

"Bingo… I spy… with my little eye..." Gould's skin went pale as he stared at the radio, hundreds of thought blazing through his mind.

'This is a secure channel, how the fuck is someone on here, who the hell is this.' Gould stopped his train of thought and cleared his throat.

"Who the hell is this! This is a secure Atlas Military channel, you will be prosecu…." Gould was cut off as the man spoke again, this time his blood running cold.

"Four armored cars and a man we need…" The radio cut out as his short range radio buzzed to life.

"Commander! We have an unknown bogey on the scope!" The soldier finished as a strange looking aircraft burst from the clouds above them.

"There are civilians here!" The commander shouted out in distress as he looked to the civilians scattering into the nearby buildings.

The craft dropped down to just above the skyline and lined up with the side of the first APC. A low motorised hum echoed out for a second before a deafening buzz cut through the droning engines. Hundreds of 20 millimeter rounds smashed into the first APC, the armor offering little more resistance than a sheet of paper to the depleted uranium rounds. One round impacting the man in the gunner position, his entire shoulder was torn from his body leaving a large portion of his chest missing as he slumped into the destroyed APC.

The APC kept rolling down the street before slowing down, flames pouring out of the hundreds of holes in the side of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle popped the hatch off and jumped out, his uniform on fire as he rolled around on the ground, fruitlessly trying to dislodge the molten metal from his skin.

Several civilian vehicles had been hit by the gun run and had caught on fire as well. Their occupants either running, hobbling or dead. The commander cursed under his breath at what these monsters were willing to do.

The second and third APC's started to slow as the Commander picked up his radio.

"Fucking hell, just fucking drive!" Gould shouted into the radio as the three APC's skirted around the flaming vehicle.

He picked up the long range radio, keeping his eyes glued to the hostile aircraft while dialing in the previous frequency.

"This is Commander Gould, we are under attack by an unidentified aircraft! Where's our air support!" Gould watched the skies as a pair of Atlas Warheads dropped from the clouds.

The hostile aircraft turned sharply and faced the two Atlas aircraft, it's maneuverability leaving an awe struck look on Goulds face for only a second as he pressed the transmitter.

"Stingray! The hostile has a powerful weapon system, watch out!" Gould watched as the two Stingrays began a dance of death in the sky with a far more maneuverable enemy.

The three APC's sped down the road, the wreckage disappearing around the corner as they took a sharp turn. Gould was looking at his scroll, a map opened up deciding on what to do. As he swiped across, his scroll started to buzz and an image of General Ironwood appeared on the screen. Without thinking he swiped before bringing the scroll to his ear.

"Commander Gould, how goes the…" Ironwood started but was cut off quickly.

"General, we have lost our lead vehicle and are preparing to have the HVT airlifted to the lab." Gould finished as he opened up the military scroll and set a global hot zone a block away, the nearest transport Warhead a minute away.

"What the hell is going on Commander, who is it?! Who is attacking you?"

"It's them, the hostiles from the past month!" He was met with silence.

"Do what you must, I expect you to complete the mission regardless of losses… you know the value of that man, we can not lose him." Gould nodded and closed the scroll as the Transport Warhead started to lower down to the street directly to their front.

The three remaining APC's screeched to a halt a half block away from the Warhead. As Gould started to open the door a loud crack sounded out above. Looking up his mouth went wide, the clouds seemingly splitting open in a perfect circle. From the circle a large orange object shot forth with a deafening boom.

The glowing orange object smashed straight through the center of the transport Warhead. The intersection buckling and falling inwards before a massive explosion erupted outwards. As the dust cleared, the intersection was replaced by a gigantic crater at least 30 feet across and 20 feet deep.

"Hold on to something!" Gould yelled as the road buckled, the undulating asphalt reaching the three APC's.

Gould grabbed the handles above the door as the APC lifted off of the ground, the world spinning through the reinforced windows. Loose objects banged around the cabin as everything suddenly stopped. The deafening crunch of rending metal echoed through the cabin.

In the back their harnesses pulled taught as the APC screeched to a halt upside down on the other side of the road. The yells of panic and screams of pain penetrated the thick hull of the crew compartment through the gunners hatch.

They started to regain their bearings, taking a minute to unlock their harnesses as they flopped to the ceiling of the APC. The four soldiers in the back groaned in pain as they started to get up from the floor. Gould pulled himself through the hatch into the back of the APC, his hand gripping the door release.

Looking back he saw his men had somewhat collected themselves. They nodded to him as they readied their weapons. Gould pulled down on the release and the door ejected off the vehicle. As the door burst off the hinges they hopped out quickly. However, what they saw was devastation.

A large section of the shopping center behind the Warhead was destroyed. Bodies scattered the sidewalks and many cars lay on their sides and roofs. The only pieces of evidence that the Warhead had just landed in the intersection were a few large sections of tail and engine turbines.

"Quickly, secure the Doctor!" Gould barked out his order as he scanned the devastation before him.

From where he was standing he could see several civilian bodies. The sheer destructive power of the weapon boggled his mind. How something so powerful had been developed right under Atlas' nose was what hit him the hardest and how someone could keep it a secret for so long.

 **In Orbit Over Atlas**

The 2 ton shell rolled on magnetic tracks towards the barrel. The coils of the weapon glowing bright blue as electricity surged through the recoil dampening mechanism. Only one barrel was to be loaded as per the Majors request, since he simply said "One will be enough" before leaving the room.

"Cannon one preparing to fire!" The Weapons Specialist stood there, his gaze cast onto the giant metal rod pushing the 2 ton shell and the massive cases of gunpowder into the barrel.

They all nodded as the shell and gunpowder was given one final ram into the gun. The breech slammed shut, shaking the control room they sat in. The lights in the room turned red as the weapons Officer's face turned to one of a grim anticipation. He pressed his hand to his ear, the communicator buzzing to life.

"Rail cannon ready to fire…. Major?" They all waited with baited breath as a solemn voice echoed back.

"Fire…" The comms cut as the Officer turned and nodded to the Gunner.

"Fire!" The Weapons Specialist yelled across the control room, the Gunner nodding before gripping his controls loosely, a magnified view of a VTOL on the ground displayed on his computer.

"Fire One!" His finger gently squeezed back, a low click emanating from the trigger.

From where they were standing Nikolai, Wulff and Simmons felt the entire ship rock as the 2 ton shell rocketed down towards the planet. The dull echo of the gun sounded like an explosion had occurred in the lower decks. They wobbled slightly but kept their balance, their normally joyus pre-mission faces were missing. Every single hour for the past month had amounted to this one drop, this one chance at saving Hastings.

"This is it, go time. Mount up!" Simmons shouted as Nikolai and Wulff nodded to him.

They rushed to their pods and grabbed the crossbar before swinging into their waiting seats. A second later they were all strapped in and the landing zone had already been plotted. Their hatches closed as the countdown started.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Launch!" The robotic voice called out as they rocketed towards the planet with blistering speed.

Their pods took 4 seconds to hit the atmosphere, the reentry flames burned past the small viewport before quickly subsiding. Each pod cracked as it impacted the thicker air, the sound barrier shattering beneath it.

"This is it… for Hastings." Simmons sighed out over his comms as he gripped his handles harder.

"For Hastings!" Wulff called out over the comms, following suit with Simmons.

"For Hastings!" Nikolai stated finally as their pods neared the ground, the city coming into view.

Gould and his men had reached the APC which held the HVT. He knew it was imperative that they get the Doctor out of there but their last option was exhausted. Their final option was return to the local Schnee Dust Company Headquarters. Enough private soldiers and armored vehicles to make Ironwood and his local force feel inadequate.

"Do you have him?!" Gould shouted as he received an answer, albeit one he wasn't hoping for.

"We have him… but he's got a broken leg, we'll have to carry him." The soldier finished as Gould made his way over to the transport, this one was right side up.

"What happened to number 2?" Gould questioned as one soldier answered.

"Whatever that thing was, it vaporized number 2 and her crew." The soldier finished as Gould cursed under his breath.

Gould put the losses aside and moved to look at the scientist. His white lab coat was a bit wrinkled and his glasses were broken. His leg looked pretty bad, but it wasn't anything a medic couldn't fix. A thick beard on his chin and a thinning clump of hair on his head, both in a graying state.

"Doctor, how are you..." He was cut off quickly by the old man.

"Do I look okay! Who the hell is it anyways, the White Fang?" The doctor continued his search for answers as Gould turned away, his hands on his weapon.

"We discuss this later, right now we need to get you to a safe place…" Gould couldn't finish as three loud cracks above them drew everyone's attention.

The fear of another one of those weapons being used ran deep as the men ran for cover and ducked behind what little cover they could find. Upon looking up they noticed three perfect holes in the clouds and three small pods rocketing towards the wreckage of the Warhead.

The three pods slammed into the ground, each cratering the cement below them sending out small shockwaves. Gould and his men watched as the tops of the pods hissed open. A hand shot from the first pod, the hand gripped the edge and pulled. From the hole emerged a heavily armored man clad head to toe in protective plating. However, the plating was the second thing the soldiers noticed, the first thing they noticed was the large machine gun in it's hands.

"What do you want?" Gould questioned, desperately trying to diffuse the situation that had already cost so much life.

Two more figures emerged from the other two pods, the other two clad in protective plating as well, strange devices sat on their backs. The second one had a small drone flying next to him, the pack on his back sharing little resemblance to the packs on the other two.

"That man…" It was the third one, his helmet slightly different than the other two, in fact, they all had different helmets from what Gould could see.

Looking to where he was pointing Gould saw he was pointing at the Doctor. His blood ran cold, he knew he couldn't negotiate this. Without another word he raised his gun and fired, the dust round sped through the air.

However, the three men made no motion to get out of the way as the shell impacted the one with the machineguns chest. Gould's face went from that of determination to that of helplessness as the round just deflected off to the side and into a piece of metal debris, punching a hole straight through.

"What the hell…" Gould mumbled.

He had seen aura take a bullet, but not outright deflect it. These men were something else entirely. However the question running through his mind was, 'Are they even men at all?'.

"Hand him over and we will spare you, refuse and we will take him… by force." Nikolai held a hand out towards the scientist, disregarding the round that his shield had just deflected.

Gould stared at the three soldiers for a long time. 15 second passed and they could all feel the tension in the air. Police sirens whined in the distance as Simmons neared his breaking point.

"That's it, open fire!" Simmons shouted as he leveled his breaker with the Atlesian soldiers in front of him and pulled the trigger, tearing off one of the soldiers arms and putting buckshot into the chest of another.

Nikolai slapped his hand back onto his MG-94 and pulled the charging handle, the empty link ejecting from the gun as a round chambered itself. Nikolai simply grinned as he depressed the trigger. Hot brass clattered on the pavement as the machine gun unloaded into anything not behind a solid piece of cover. Two soldiers who were unable to get behind the overturned APC were shredded by the large caliber rounds flying down range.

Wulff, not wanting to be outdone, took aim with his Paragon. He aimed and fired, the round grazing one of the Atlesian soldiers legs. The toxin worked quickly as the soldier dropped his weapon, his motor functions shutting down and his body going into shock. The other soldiers watching in horror from behind cover as their ally convulsed on the ground before going limp a second later.

It was clear to Gould that these were the men from every other incident in the past month, however what he was seeing here was causing alarm bells in the back of his mind. He had read the reports from previous encounters with these men and they didn't add up. Death tolls that fluctuated wildly and conflicting reports of kills against the hostiles with only three ever showing up at a time. Superior weapons, technology and mercilessly efficient to add. Gould looked to his right and saw several soldiers returning fire, their rounds doing little to nothing against the armored men.

"Keep it up! Nikolai, go for the scientist." Simmons called out over comms.

Nikolai nodded in acknowledgement as he made a beeline for the man in the labcoat. His gun leveled as he advanced across the open ground towards the soldiers and the man they were guarding.

He squeezed the trigger as he advanced, short bursts from the MG-94 were easy to control and still allowed him to move forward. One soldier caught several rounds in his chest, his body collapsing to the ground as his ally popped back into cover, the wreck of the APC blocking Nikolai's shots. Nikolai let out a grunt of disappointment as he pulled the trigger, this time a click echoing out across the street.

Gould broke cover immediately, not caring about the other two hostiles, and rushed Nikolai. He quickly covered the ground between himself and Nikolai in only a few seconds. Nikolai looked up from his weapon and saw a pistol pushed against his chest as it fired.

Gould watched as the round was absorbed by the glowing field around the hostile. Again and again he fired into the man before him. The only sign the man cared was a quiet chuckle as he pulled his arm back and punched Gould right in the stomach, sending him reeling backwards.

Gould wobbled as he doubled over. He had to admit the man had a powerful punch for his size. Gould looked through his squinted eyes as the man stepped forward, his machinegun on the ground.

"That thing takes too long to reload anyways." Nikolai stated as he unhooked one of his ice picks.

He gave the pick a twirl as the sound of sirens rounded the corner down the road from them. Nikolai looked over and saw several police cars speeding down the road. However, they were quickly stopped as Wulff and Simmons delivered suppressing fire down range, keeping them at bay. Simmons nodded to Nikolai who returned the nod quickly before turning back to face the soldier to his front.

"Who are you people?" Gould grunted through clenched teeth as he raised his pistol, the weapon transforming in his hands.

The barrel slid back and collapsed into the stock as the grip straightened out. A blade sliding out in place of the barrel. The weapon looked like a medieval shortsword and Nikolai had to admit it was quite impressive, however, he didn't show it on the outside as he swung down at his opponent.

"Who we are is no longer a viable question, what we want is the only answer I can give you." Nikolai hissed as his hook caught on the blade of the shortsword, the metal screeching in protest.

Nikolai kicked out, his leg deflected to the side by Goulds free hand. Gould pushed his opening and flicked his sword free from the picks grasp as he rushed forward, well within Nikolai's striking distance.

Gould thrust his knife forward, Nikolai unable to deflect it as it smashed into his energy shield. Nikola watched as the shields power quickly depleted, the man clearly stronger than your average soldier.

"Just back off!" Nikolai grunted as he wrapped his hand around Goulds wrist.

His hand tightening every moment as Gould let out a cry of pain, his wrist starting to creak as the bone strained. Then a crack as his wrist shattered under Nikolais grip, his weapon sliding from his hand as he was forced to his knees.

Nikolai kicked him back as Simmons sprinted past Nikolai, his shotgun pressed against Goulds chest.

"Checkmate." Was all that simmons said as he pulled the trigger.

Gould was thrown back by the blast, his body tumbling backwards a few feet before coming to a stop. Gould rolled over with a grunt as blood flowed from a few of the holes in his chest plate. The street had gone silent as only a few of Gould's men were still alive, the rest had dropped their weapons and surrendered. Wulff was in the process of rounding the survivors up as Simmons and Nikolai walked over to the bleeding Gould.

"You knew it would end like this… the police will be here soon to pick you up." Simmons shrugged as he watched the surviving police cowering behind their cars.

"You won't get away with this…" Gould was interrupted as he coughed, blood splattering across the concrete.

"Oh, Shut up… Doc, grab the scientist. We're out of here." Simmons shouted as they turned away from Gould, a look of defeat on his face.

Wulff started moving towards them, a rather old looking man firmly in his grip. Nikolai looked him up and down, shrugging as he looked towards Simmons who nodded in confirmation.

"Map, get SOD on the horn… we need extraction." Simmons barked as he scanned the street.

However, as Nikolai pulled out his radio the screeching of tires and whirring of sirens from both directions set Simmons mind into over time. At least a dozen APC's speed down the street in front of and behind them. The same white wash APC's they just attacked. They stopped in a circle around them, their doors dropped as several dozen soldiers jumped out.

The soldiers took up positions around them as they raised their weapons. Among the soldiers stood an equal number of robotic soldiers. Simmons lowered his shotgun. Wulff and Nikolai looked to him, their faces filled with anger as they saw their plan melt before them.

"I'll be, if it isn't the three who've been causing problems across Atlas. I am Major General Grey of the Atlas Armed Forces." The just named Grey stepped from behind one of the APC's, his arms thrown up to his sides.

"Release the scientist… now." He finished with a monotone as his men took aim, the men on top of the APC's swiveling their weapons to face the Helldivers.

Simmons turned to face Nikolai as he dropped to one knee, Nikolai returning a look of defeat. Nikola understood that there was no way out for them now… even if they tried to fight there was no way they could win.

"If we can't win… no one can." Simmons stated in a grim voice as a sadistic smirk creeped onto his face.

Nikolai nodded back slowly as he pulled a beacon from his backpack, the panel popping out as he typed in the code that they were all familiar with. He gently dropped the beacon which landed, the arms opening and impaling the ground as a pillar of light shot into the sky.

"What the hell is that!" Several soldiers called out as they took aim, safeties clicking as they prepared to fire.

The three of them slowly moved away from the beacon as they let their weapons rest at their sides. The soldiers watched in confusion. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed out from above causing them all to look up. The soldiers recoiled in awe as a large orange object streaked down through the clouds, smashing into the concrete right in the middle of the Helldivers.

At this point, a news Bullhead had started it's orbit of the location and several news vans had set up around the corner, out of view of police and begun their transmission. While the news was getting it's fill, the soldiers were wondering just what had crashed next to the hostiles.

After a second, the pod opened and out emerged a large object. The four prongs that raised from the middle of the cylinder poised to strike at the end of a timer. Grey just stood there and watched the object unfold as it went higher and higher.

Simmons stepped forward, his shotgun slung over his shoulder as he looked Grey in his eyes, his hands clasped behind his back. He watched as Grey and his men observed the bomb behind him with intense interest.

"An enhanced NUX-223, the NUX-230, Fireball diameter of 50 meters. Diver Kill radius of 120 meters. Unprotected Kill radius of 300 meters, radiation radius of 600 meters." The words started to register in the Grey's ears as a look of realization appeared on his face.

"I understand that we are no further than 80 meters from this cities suburbs. From here on out it's your call, do they live or do they die. Do we get our man or do hundreds die." Simmons stated it as it was.

The NUX-230 was a larger version of the NUX-223 and it was a noticeable difference. Helldivers could outrun a NUX-223 but it was impossible to drive out of range of a NUX-230. The 230 was deployed when escape was not an option and death was the only outcome. A suicide weapon of sorts as a Helldiver had to manually activate it from within 30 meters.

"You wouldn't... " Grey spat out as sweat started to gather on his brow.

"I would… I'm not worried about a few deaths." Simmons voice was dead serious as a pair of jet engines sounded in the distance.

"I got extraction." Nikolai stated from the side as Simmons nodded to him.

"So, what do you say Grey… do you let this one man go and save a few hundred people or do you kill them in the name of 'Following orders'?" Simmons pulled out the detonator and held it in his hand, his thumb playing with the flap.

Simmons was getting impatient and the transport had just touched down. It was now or never and one man's words would change the world.

 _ **A/N: Hmmmmmm looks like Lumox and I got them in the shit agian... how upsetting, depsite their, and Atlas's current preicament I hope you all have a great two weeks until the next chapter. Don't forget to leave your thoughts and feedback for myself and Lumox.**_


	24. A Generally Good Experience

**A/N: Between midterms and the release of volume 4 I can say that this chapter was squeezed right in the middle of all of that. Suffice it to say that this is only half as long as the last chapter I've set up some pretty interesting happenings.**

Simmons had his eyes locked with General Grey's. The two were engaged in a battle of endurance. Simmons, however, was nearing his breaking point as the man stared back at him, a look of hesitation present on his features.

"It's all up to you… what's your call?" Simmons let his question drift out as his hand squeezed the detonator tighter and tighter.

Grey knew he was on the losing side of this standoff and that anything he said would change Atlas, if not Remnant as a whole, forever. The soldiers had started lowering their weapons, the realization of the situation starting to break through to the forefront of their mind. Soon, the only ones with weapons drawn were the Atlesian Knights.

"Who are you… why is he so important to you?" Grey questioned slowly as he dropped his hands to his sides.

Wulff stepped forward, his drone following closely behind him as he rested his weapon on his shoulder. His mask slightly freaking out some of the soldiers as he approached them, the emotionless black goggles and large filter sticking out the front only cementing the image of a machine in the soldier's minds. The long tube snaked around his neck and over his shoulder to the pack on his back under his cape. He slowly lifted his hand and pointed at Grey with a single digit.

"We can not… we will not lose a man because of this worlds anomalies." Wulff stated in a monotone as he kept his finger leveled at Grey.

Grey listened as a look of confusion and slight intrigue appeared on his face. The words leaving the armored man's mouth leaving him with a significant number of pressing questions that needed answering.

"Perhaps he is not the man you need to talk to. Stand down, that's an order." The addition of another voice and it's commanding nature caused both Grey and the Helldivers to turn to it's owner.

Simmons instantly knew that the man approaching them commanded authority. He held himself tall, his hands clasped behind his back and a no-nonsense expression on his features. The imprint of a pistol visible over his left breast causing Simmons to take a slightly more alert stance.

"That's as far as you go." Nikolai spat, venom laced in his voice, as the man halted just after passing the circle of soldiers.

"Fair enough, my name is James Ironwood, commander of the Atlas Armed Forces and Headmaster of the Atlas Academy." He kept his straight face as he looked over each member of Hunter before returning his gaze to Simmons.

"I assume the rank is General… if you would be so kind, would you have these buckets of scrap lower their weapons… I'm sure if they fired you wouldn't have but a millisecond to regret their action." Simmons let the disguised threat float as Ironwood gave a slight sigh and waved his hand downwards at his side.

Simmons, Wulff, and Nikolai all let out a breath they didn't know they were holding as the robots all lowered their weapons, joining the ranks of unwilling human soldiers. Simmons and his men lowered their weapons as well, although the clacker still sat firmly in Simmons hand.

"Now that we are all talking under… better circumstances I assume you three are the ones who ambushed the Schnee Convoy and killed a number of its escort." Ironwood was clearly furious and in need of an answer to it all.

"General Ironwood, I would be willing to answer your questions… however, not here." Simmons liked this man already, he had been the only one over the past month willing to disclose information to them without shooting first.

The General put his one gloved hand on his chin and gave it a tap before nodding slowly. He removed his hand from his chin as he motioned to a nearby APC. The look on Grey's face reminded Simmons of a Super Earth Soldier the first time he saw a Helldiver drop next to him, a look of pure dumbfounded awe. The Helldivers could tell Grey would do something stupid, he was a naive fool and Simmons could smell it.

Simmons started to walk towards Ironwood and was halfway between him and his two squadmates when Grey spoke out.

"General, are you insane! These men have killed scores of our soldiers…I won't let them live." Grey was furious as he wiped the look of shock from his face, all reason and judgment leaving his mind as he jumped forward.

Grey pulled a pistol from his side as he rushed Wulff. Wulff was not surprised as Grey rushed him, he was only disappointed that his weapon was holstered. Grey had noticed the different backpack that Wulff wore and was willing to bet his life on the theory that the other two had Auras generated by their backpacks.

"Grey, I said stand down. That's an order!" Ironwood was too late, however, as Grey pushed the pistol into Wulff's midsection.

The pistol lodged itself in Wulff's suit just below the oxygen tank but above the armor on his lower torso. The small spot of tapered armor to the right of his stomach was where the pistol stopped as Grey pulled the trigger.

Grey fired three more times before a robot lept forward and knocked the gun from his hand before another two grabbed his by both arms. Grey thrashed and kicked as he tried to escape the iron grip of the Atlesian Knights. Ironwood was almost showing his inner panic as a subordinate of his might have just pushed a hostile faction over the edge.

"By Dust! We need a medic over here!" Ironwood called out as the shuffle of feet made him turn back to the wounded man.

Ironwood watched with eyes slightly opened as Wulff collapsed to the ground, a slow stream of blood leaking from the wound. Wulff was gripping the wound tightly as he pulled his legs into his chest. The soldiers watched, some in hidden glee, and others in open disdain at the possible explosion. However, the explosion never came.

"Map, help Doc." Simmons shouted as he watched from his position near Ironwood.

"Map, the syringes a-are i-in my l-left pocket." Wulff gasped out as Nikolai ran over to him.

Ironwood watched as the man named Map ran over to Doc and felt around his pockets before pulling out a long syringe. Giving it a good flick and pulling off the casing he flipped it around and stabbed the needle into Wulff. Wulff let out a grunt of pain as the plunger pushed the liquid into the the injured man.

What happened next only made Ironwood and his men watch in mild confusion and shock. Wulff started to convulse as he let out a scream of pain. The scream was quick but conveyed what could only be described as unimaginable pain. After a second of laying still, Wulff started to stand up from the ground, the wound no longer bleeding. Instead, through the hole in the suit was a clean patch of pale skin.

"Impossible…" Ironwood mumbled as Simmons looked back to him, a blank facemask locking with his eyes.

"No, not impossible… just expensive. You mentioned a quiet place to talk." Simmons ignored the stares his men were getting as they walked towards the APC.

Nikolai had grabbed the scientist off the ground and had hoisted him onto his shoulder. The scientist did not complain for he was too afraid to incur the wrath of the Helldivers.

"The bomb?" Ironwood quietly spoke as he motioned to the Hellbomb sticking from the concrete.

"I guess it's the proper thing to do." Simmons shrugged slightly as he flipped the detonator over and pressed the button on the back.

The bomb sat silently before a small explosion on the inside caused the middle of the shell to collapse on itself. The top half fell over, a smoking wreck. A secondary charge ignited and the metal started to melt into the ground. Soon, nothing but a small puddle of metal was left in place of the weapon.

Ironwood watched in a mix of interest and concern as the metal soup bubbled slightly before starting to lose it's red-hot color. Grey was being loaded into a secondary APC, Ironwood gave the driver a small wave. The driver nodded back before starting the journey back to the Atlas HQ, Ironwood would talk to him later. As the APC rounded the corner down the road Ironwood gave a slight nod before turning to the trio standing next to him.

"Shall we…" Simmons stated, looking back to Ironwood, the General letting out a small breath before stepping towards the APC.

Simmons and Wulff stepped onto the ramp of the APC. Looking back they saw Nikolai half carrying, half dragging the scientist towards the ramp, a pistol against his head. They needed insurance, and seeing as the bomb was destroyed the valuable scientists life would make due for now.

Simmons, Wulff and Nikolai entered the APC. Looking around they saw a total of 12 seats. Four for them and their impromptu hostage and eight for an assortment of Atlas military personnel and Atlesian Knights. Simmons paid them no mind as he took the open seat near the front of the vehicle. Wulff following closely, planting himself next to Simmons. Nikolai pushed the scientist ahead of him and into the third open seat while sitting down himself in the fourth, his pistol still trained on the man's head.

There was still another empty seat, and Simmons slight confusion was put to rest when General Ironwood himself stepped into the APC, taking the last open seat at the front. He placed his hand to his ear as he spoke.

"This is General Ironwood, Convoy move out!" Ironwoods commanding voice echoed through the back of the APC as is jerked forward.

The General sat with his arms propped up on his knees, chin resting on his peaked hands. Wulff could feel his analyzing glare as it passed over each member of Hunter. They had been bumping along for at least 5 minutes, a dead silence filling the APC as the soldiers watched with cautious and accusing glares being thrown towards the trio every now and then. Nikolai simply grunted when one soldier looked at him for too long, the soldiers each taking a keen interest on something out the window immediately after.

"So…" Simmons started, his words causing a few men to jump in their seats slightly.

"Where are you taking us?" Simmons finally asked the question the three of them had been wanting to ask for the longest time.

Ironwood simply looked up from his Scroll, a serious and calculating look on his face, to face Simmons. Ironwood put away his Scroll before clasping his hands together.

"Your people have been causing an infinite amount of mischief around the kingdom. You have broken multiple laws, killed dozens, if not hundreds and sent other kingdoms on alert." Ironwood rattled off at a brisk pace before taking a deep breath.

"But… there are some who believe that there is more to your factions exploits than just killing and causing chaos." This piqued the trio's attention.

"If they hadn't told me that you might not be who we think you are then the entire might of Atlas would have already been forced upon you." At this, Simmons let out a loud chuckle from behind his helmet.

Nikolai and Wulff followed with a few whispers and laughs as well. Ironwood was quite confused and was almost at a point where he would rather kill these men than appease his close friend.

"Are you mocking the kingdom of Atlas?" Ironwood questioned, his voice deadpan serious.

Simmons look from his allies to the General sitting diagonally to him and leaned forward.

"Mocking? No! Of course not… just stating facts." Ironwood couldn't see it, but he could feel the smirk that crossed onto Simmons face.

"The things I do for him…" Ironwood was seriously starting to doubt everything he had been told.

Everything from this faction having more organization and training than his own military to the accounts of there only ever being three soldiers belonging to their faction in combat at once. It just didn't add up. However, Commander Gould was in critical condition and a Schnee convoy had been all but decimated in seconds by a single gunship. Ironwood had watched the events unfold thanks to the surveillance equipment.

As they travelled, Ironwood was receiving updates from HQ. Namely the Atlas Central Intelligence Agency. From what they could gather, the speed and maneuverability of the airship was unlike anything ever developed by any Kingdom. Further analysis showed a lack of any tilt-rotor assembly on the craft meaning that whoever they were, they had access to an area large enough to land a gunship of that size horizontally.

Ironwood knew that there were gaps in Kingdom intelligence, yes, but a landing strip that large could only fit outside of the Kingdoms. Either there was another Kingdom that had been isolated long ago… or there was something more to this than met the eye.

Ironwoods Scroll continued to buzz. More numerous and more drastic technological and tactical anomalies began to surface as data was compiled for the General. His eyes were glazed over as he read the documents, his Scroll bouncing in his hands as the APC trundled along.

"You never answered my question… where are we headed?" Simmons piped up, startling Ironwood from his light reading.

"Ah, yes," Ironwood cleared his throat, "We're headed to the Local Military Headquarters."

Simmons, Wulff and Nikolai tensed up slightly. They were being taken to the heart of Atlas operations for the city and from what they could tell, no one was enjoying their company. Simmons turned to Nikolai and Wulff, activating his suit-to-suit comms.

"Nikolai, Wulff. Do not do anything that would instigate conflict." Nikolai and Wulff both nodded as Simmons turned back to ironwood, his blank face mask showing no emotion to the General.

A moment later they felt the APC make a sharp right handed turn before rolling to a slow stop. The stop lasting a few seconds as they continued forward. Looking out the small windows Nikolai noticed a large gateway passing over them as guards stood on both sides and saluted.

"No turning back now…" Nikolai mumbled as the APC halted for the final time.

The ramp at the back of the APC dropped down as the soldiers started to disembark. Ironwood approached the trio and motioned towards the ramp with his hand. Simmons was the first to stand and moved slowly towards the ramp. Wulff got up, followed by Nikolai and his hostage.

As they stepped down onto the metal floor they all looked at what amounted to a small army milling about. However, some of the soldiers had started to take notice and appeared to be not-quite-as-welcoming as the General.

Between yells of surprise and the clang of boots, Simmons knew that this meeting would be a little touch-and-go.

 **A/N: And there it is! the 24th chapter on the day of Volume 4's release... too bad the servers are overflowing at the moment. As usual, let me know what you think by giving me any kind of feedback you have, I take questions too!**


	25. The Heart Of Darkness

**A/N: Yes I know the chapter is short but it does advance the story quite a bit :) Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

The trio stared back at the small group of soldiers encircling them, Nikolai pulling the scientist closer as a result. Ironwood emerged from the APC, a discontent look on his face as a sigh graced his mouth. Simmons spoke as Ironwood placed himself between his men and the Helldivers.

"Ironwood, did you by chance tell your men we were coming?" Simmons deadpanned as the soldiers looked at each other, Simmons words slightly confusing them.

"Stand down men! As of this moment these men are to be considered political ambassadors." Ironwoods voice rang out across the base as the men hesitantly lowered their weapons.

The soldiers started to disperse, casting glares at the trio as they did so. Ironwood turned towards the trio and bowed slightly. Simmons nodded at the silent apology. Noticing the nod, Ironwood stood up before turning on his heels and motioning for the trio to follow.

"If you men would follow me, and unhand the doctor…" Ironwood motioned to the Doctor, Nikolai's pistol still pushed into the base of his spine.

Nikolai looked to Simmons who waved his hand at his waist. Nikolai nodded upon seeing the signal and pulled his pistol away from the man's neck before holstering it. The doctor stumbled a bit before gaining his footing, his face contorting slightly as he put slight pressure on his broken leg. A medic made his way over and took the doctor, supporting him on his shoulder.

Wulff watched the medic take the doctor away as they entered the building, the doors sealing behind them. The trio looked around and found the building to be stark white on the interior. The simple receptionist's desk and lobby held little more architectural expression than an Mental Hospital.

"Do your employees feel like prisoners here?" Nikolai spat as Ironwood turned around, giving him a hard glare.

"Alright… note taken…" Nikolai quipped as Ironwood approached a double door to the left of the front desk.

The General typed on the keypad as the elevator opened. Two guards stood at the panel on the opposite side of the elevator. Simmons entered, his face neutral as Ironwood nodded to the guards. The guards silently pressed the top button on the panel labeled "Landing Pad".

Simmons grumbled as he watched the dial spin, the elevator nearing the top of the rather short structure. The elevator let out a solid ding as the door shuttered, opening slowly. They all exited the elevator and moved towards the glass door exiting onto the landing pad, an Atlas VTOL waited patiently for their arrival.

"Why haven't you killed us yet…" Simmons questioned bluntly as they exited the building onto the landing pad.

"If I had a say in this matter," Ironwood let out a frustrated sigh before continuing, "I would have had you all shot when we arrived." Ironwoods statement caused a smirk to float onto Simmons face.

"If you had a say? What do you mean?" Wulff questioned, however, Ironwood wasn't the one that answered.

"He does, oh he does… just not the final say." The trio looked towards the back of the VTOL and saw an old friend.

Ozpin and his assistant, Goodwitch, walked towards Simmons and his men. The coffee mug planted firmly in Ozpin's hand and the neutral look on his face almost made the trio forget they were standing on a landing pad about to board a VTOL with their near-enemies. To be fair, Simmons liked the way Ozpin approached them, not by means of verbal fisticuffs but by visual jousting.

Simmons and Ozpin ended their match as Ozpin spoke. His coffee mug resting level with his chest.

"James, I assume they came willingly?" Ozpin questioned as he took a sip, looking up over the rim of the mug.

"They did… not before threatening to destroy a moderate chunk of the Atlas commercial District." Ironwood forced out that last part as Ozpin let out a content hum.

"It's about time we left…" The third voice wafted from the shuttle, the usual slight slur in his speech missing.

"You!" Nikolai shouted out in mild anger at the man that showed them around Beacon before their demise at the hands of Glynda.

"You?" Qrow questioned as he looked at the Helldiver, his mind trying to figure out where they knew each other from.

Qrow and Nikolai locked eyes, one confused and the other mildly upset as Ozpin broke them up by tapping his cane firmly on the ground. Once he had everyone's attention he cleared his throat.

"Now that everyone is here why don't we get on our way?" Ozpin turned abruptly before stepping onto the ramp of the shuttle.

Everyone present followed suit and boarded the shuttle. The three Helldivers sat next to each other as their hosts took their own seats alongside several Atlas soldiers. Qrow sat down, his mind still searching for the memory of ever meeting the short armored man before. The shuttle ramp closed as the VTOL lifted up from the pad, the engines throttling up as they streaked off.

The city grew smaller and smaller as the mountains started to grow on the horizon. The shuttle was filled with an eerie silence as the Helldivers refused to speak for the entire trip so far. Ironwood, on the other hand, wanted to know how one of the three had known Qrow.

"I didn't know you had ever had contact with these men before." Ironwood questioned as Qrow and the three Helldivers looked towards Ironwood.

"I haven't seen these three. Sure, there were the four that infiltrated Beacon, but these three…" Qrow was interrupted as Nikolai laughed, his joyus outburst making Glynda and some of the soldiers flinch.

"Oh come on, you haven't pieced it together? We both have flasks we carry around, we bonded." Nikolai strained the last part in mock sadness as he pulled his flask from his belt.

It took a second but it dawned on both Ozpin and Glynda. Surprise snaked it's way onto Glynda's face as skeptical look broke Ozpin's usual facade of indifference.

"That's impossible. We watched you…" Glynda started as Wulff cleared his throat.

"Yes, impossible… to your people, I will not repeat what has been said to the General on technological differences. Despite this, we have a lot to tell you." Wulff finished his small disclaimer as he folded his arms and leaned back.

"So it seems… You three only succeeded in dodging the question and creating more." Ozpin stated as he took a sip from his coffee mug, his finger tapping his cane lightly.

"It really does seem that way… Where are we headed anyways. I realize that you haven't told us." Simmons inquiry was quickly answered by the General.

"Atlas is currently the most advanced kindom on Remnant and as a result we have dedicated research facilities to work on our most secretive projects." Ironwood paused before continuing, "This includes the study of Aura and it's properties." This piqued Simmons interest as he pushed himself up in his seat.

Simmons looked out the window and saw that they were closing in on a landing pad embedded in the side of a mountain. Upon further study he could see a large observatory planted on the peak. The VTOL descended onto the platform as the co-pilot entered the passenger bay.

"Alright General, we're here." The co-pilot saluted as the General passed him, the ramp dropping down.

As the ramp dropped, a gust of icy wind circulated through the VTOL causing Qrow and Glynda to shudder slightly. The Helldivers and Ozpin remained unfazed as they approached the ramp. Directly to their front was a large blast door carved into the mountainside.

"Some hell of a door…" Nikolai quipped as the General nodded, waving towards the door with his hand.

The door groaned before a small gap appeared in the metal. After a few seconds the gap opened to 10 feet wide before the door stopped. Ironwood walked forward, not saying a word, as the guards standing just inside the door gave him a firm salute.

Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff followed closely. Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow secured the rear as the door slowly started to groan closed. Giving one final grunt the door clanged shut, Simmons and his team now sealed inside the mountain base brimming with Atlas Soldiers.

"For all the stupid shit we've done," Wulff started as he turned on suit to suit coms, "This has to be one of the most impulsive of them." Nikolai chuckled in agreement as Simmons just gave a curt nod.

They continued forward past a large security checkpoint and what looked like a tram station before coming to a large door. Lights on both sides of the door flashed as the door parted, revealing what looked like a large elevator.

Situated on the large platform were two thin pedestals on each side with guards standing next to them. The group moved onto the platform, Ironwood giving the guards a salute. The guards saluted back before moving. One guard pulled out his scroll and placed it on one of the pedestals. The other guard placed his on the other pedestal. The pedestals turned green and the platform started to move downwards.

A large blast door opened below them, the platform stopping only to allow the track to bridge the gap caused by the door before their movement continued. The rock face in front of them was quickly replaced by large glass windows that opened up into massive hollowed out caverns filled with equipment, scientists and engineers all scrambling around.

"Quite and operation you have here General." Simmons commented as he pointed at the droves of workers.

"Yes, we are working around the clock to solve everything from dust stability to understanding the creatures of Grimm." Ironwoods voice took on a hint of pride that was noticed by all present.

Ironwoods face soon fell and the expression soon disappeared from his face as the platform reached it's destination. The windows to their front were replaced by the same rock face they had seen before.

"This is your stop, Level -2." One of the guards started with a salute as Ironwood returned the salute.

The door to the platform opened and they were met with swarms of scientists buzzing about. The personnel were all too busy to notice the new arrivals.

"Stay close to me." Ironwood said over his shoulder as he stepped out into the hive, the rest of them following closely behind.

Ironwood led the others through the swarm that seemed to part as he moved. It felt like leaving Ironwoods side would mean being lost to the swarm of facility personnel. They all followed the General closely, minus one member of Hunter.

Wulff could have sworn he was right behind Nikolai but he soon found he was wrong. He was somewhere else with not a single soul in sight. Seeing the section of the base he was just in this made him slightly uncomfortable.

Looking up and down the hallway he noticed several windows on either side of the hallway. Each window had a door next to it with a number. Walking over he looked through the windows and saw one of the bear-like Grimm sitting on the floor, an Ursa as he recalled. Other cells held Beowolves and Boarbatusk all in varying states of activity. Turning a corner he noticed movement.

Ducking back behind the corner he peaked out and saw four men in protective gear enter one of the cells. He wondered what would warrant the scientists need for that much protection.

As he moved on the room he noticed the scientists from before standing around a table in the middle with a rather large block of ice on it. As he watched the scientists marking on their clipboards he saw something that made his blood run cold. The long front claws curled up in front of it's abdomen. Wings slightly separated from its body and six legs laying frozen in a disorganized pattern.

His eyes moved up the slim thorax before landing on the familiar face. The two flaps of orange flesh that jutted off just above the neck only confirmed his fears. He took a step backward. He had to find Simmons and Nikolai… fast.

"A god damned Stalker… my God, they're here." Wulff mumbled under his breath as he turned around rapidly, his legs pumping as he sprinted back the way he came.

As he pounded down the hallway, he pressed his hand to the side of his helmet. Hearing the tone of the communicator, he spoke out.

"Major, Atlas is in possession of a captured Stalker. I repeat, Atlas has a Stalker in their possession!" Wulff removed his hand from his head as he neared the crowded central hallway.

Whatever Atlas was doing, they needed answers… fast.

 **A/N: Sometimes I wonder if you guys just want the inhabitants of Remnant to have a little more than just the Grimm to deal with... fair enough... the bugs it is.**


	26. Unstoppable

**A/N: Yes, this is an unusually short chapter. I understand that and I realize that I need to take more time on the chapters. As of next week, we have Thanksgiving break and I will be heading home from college for a short time. Hopefully, this will give me some extra time to work on the next chapter!**

 **Also, shoutouts to NekrosPlays and TopHatGuy for the supportive reviews and pyrothekid for their nice comment!**

 **Keep up the reviews and don't forget to PM me if you have an idea for the next chapter!**

Wulff pounded down the hallway before coming to the large hallway where most of the hussle and bussle of the facility lay. As he approached, several guards turned to face him, his outfit clearly drawing their attention as they pulled out their batons. One of the guards spoke into his radio before returning his attention to Wulff.

"Simmons, their guards are on me… didn't Ironwood say we were some kind of fucking diplomats?!" Wulff called into his communicator. The silence lasted a second before the familiar voice of Simmons returned.

"What do you mean, 'On you'? Ironwood, your "soldiers" are currently after one of my men. And he says that you have something we should know about." The communicator cut out as Wulff started dodging attacks and retaliating with his own kicks and punches.

Spotting an opening he made a break for it, the hallway he had see the group go down before being separated from them. Having no other option he ducked into the nearly empty passage, having lost the guards in the confusion, he continued his search for his allies as Simmons was undoubtedly grilling Ironwood and his group of friends over the Stalker in the labs.

Without Wulff, Simmons argument wouldn't hold water any better than a plate and Ironwood would shut his report and Simmons argument down faster than an electronic rat trap. The thing that bothered Wulff was Atlas's secrecy and their lack of communication. Although he had to give them some slack where it was due. They probably couldn't make heads or tails of the Stalker sitting frozen on that table even if they had a year or two to study it.

Wulff was still speeding down the hall when he caught the glimpse of golden trim through a window. Coming to a near instantaneous stop he back peddled and was greeted with the sight of a rather furious Simmons. Despite his leaders helmet he could almost hear the man's yelling through the thick metal walls of the installation. Pointing his finger this way and that he was clearly about to do something drastic. Without so much as another second Wulff went over to the door. The door slid open as he approached it and entered the room. The first voice that he heard belonged to Simmons.

"A Stalker!? You mean that Stalker!?" Simmons was livid, and from only the minute he had been speaking to Ironwood.

"Yes, a Stalker is frozen in one of their labs. I saw it with my own eyes." Wulff was as sure as day if bright that it was a Stalker sitting on that table and not a Grimm.

"Are you sure about this?" Simmons had calmed down slightly as he looked Wulff right in the eyes.

"As sure of this one as the one that stabbed me on Navi VII." Wulff stood ramrod straight as he replied to his commanders question.

Simmons went silent and turned back towards Ironwood with an emotionless glare. Simmons stepped towards the table in the middle where Ironwood and his friends were seated, Simmons seat knocked onto the floor from when he started his probable rant. Standing up the chair, Simmons took a seat. Nikolai and Wulff stood silently behind him, not wanting to move lest they incur his wrath. He took a deep, calm breath before speaking.

"I understand that my rant beforehand was all incoherent nonsense to you and Ozpin," Simmons began as he motioned to Ozpin and Ironwood, "But there is a reason why I lost myself, and that Bug in your lab is the reason." Ironwood returned the neutral glare, unwavering under Simmons.

"Do you have a 10-foot tall praying mantis look-alike in one of your labs?" Simmons question echoed through the room as he placed steepled hands in front of his helmet.

Ironwood looked hesitant to answer as he passed his gaze around from Ozpin and Glynda to Qrow before returning it back to Simmons. Ironwood stood from his seat and pushed it in before walking over to the large shutter at the back of the room. Pressing a few buttons on the console next to the window a small microphone appeared.

"Get the specimen ready for viewing. Yes, move the room." Ironwood removed his hand as another voice came through.

"Affirmative, Positioning security teams now." The microphone disappeared as the sound of machinery came from behind the shutter.

"It will be here soon. Our specimen handling system allows for the transfer of cells through a vast tunnel network under the facility." Ironwood stated with a sense of pride as the mechanical noises started to fade and a loud click echoed through the room.

Ozpin and Glynda came to the shutter, awaiting to see exactly what it was Ironwood and the trio of soldiers were talking about. Nikolai and Wulff waited silently for Simmons to make his move. Simmons removed his hands from the table and stood, his chair scratching the floor as he pushed it backwards. The shutters began to open as he moved towards the window. The bright light that shone through caused everyone to cover their eyes slightly.

However, as the bright light faded an expression of confusion creeped onto everyone's faces. Everyone, except for the Helldivers.

They wore faces of fear.

"It's… empty… Impossible!" Ironwood pushed up against the thick glass as he gazed into the room, a pool of water on the floor and table, the specimen gone.

Simmons, Wulff and Nikolai had all gone into panic mode as they drew their weapons. The communicators in their helmets buzzing to life as they pushed their backs together, forming a triangle of weapon coverage in all directions. Glynda and Ozpin had not noticed the trio of Helldivers but Qrow had.

"What the hell are you doing?! Put those weapons down!" Qrow yelled, his patience wearing thin.

"It can see us…" Nikolai yelled out, Ironwood not hearing his call as he pulled out his scroll.

"Send the Security team in, where the hell is the specimen?! Did you send the wrong room?" Ironwood rattled off orders as the door to the specimens room started to open.

Simmons saw the door beginning to open and broke formation, his eyes widening upon realization. Wulff and Nikolai realized Simmons actions a second later and broke formation. They burst towards the door to their room but found it locked.

"Don't open that door!" Simmons yelled to Ironwood, his face that of confusion upon hearing Simmons words.

"What the hell is that!" The voice cut through the commotion of Simmons and his allies.

Wulff and Nikolai moved to the window and saw what could only be described as a rookie Helldiver mistake. One guard was recoiling, his mask melting as he tried to scrape a green liquid from his armor and another rising off the ground, a hole straight through his abdomen.

"Stalker! Jesus Christ he was right." Nikolai yelled back to Simmons.

Simmons let out a muffled curse as he pushed his Breaker into the door and fired. The round tearing straight through the Atlesian metal. The door bent outwards as Simmons threw himself against it again and again. The screams of the security personnel got louder as the gap in the door got wider and wider.

"Jesus christ Ironwood, give me a fucking hand over here!" Simmons snapped as Ironwood tore himself away from the bloodbath that was the specimen room.

Ironwood typed a few things into the terminal, the door opening as wide as it could considering the damage by Simmons. Simmons rolled into the hallway and saw something that resembled the aftermath of a Bug invasion. Blood splattered the walls and floor, standing out on the white metal as chunks of flesh lay strewn about.

Nikolai and Wulff exited the room soon after, their eyes landing on the gore strewn about the hallway. It was a mix between indifference and concern.

"There were at least 8 of these guards… how could one Stalker do all this?" Nikolai was dumbfounded, and rightfully so.

A single Stalker was no challenge to a team of Helldivers, let alone a squad of Super Earth Grunts. Even the Helldivers admitted that a squad of Super Earth GIs could hold their position for days without Helldiver support and even launch a hell of an offensive. But seeing the aftermath of these 8 guards against a single Stalker wasn't having Simmons put much faith in the soldiers of Remnant.

They kept their weapons raised and scanned the hallway for any sign of a Stalker's tell tale shimmer. The bodies seemed to be right around the door meaning that the Stalker had in fact left the specimen storage. With the security doors closed on both sides of the hallway there was nowhere for the Bug to go.

"Poor bastards… they didn't stand a chance." Wulff mumbled as they heard footsteps behind them.

Turning around, weapons lowered slightly, they saw Qrow walking up to them with his scythe deployed.

"What the hell are you doing here, go back to the room and seal the door!" Simmons growled as Nikola and Wulff continued scanning the hallway.

"Why the hell would I do that? If you're saying I should leave this fun to you guys, then you're crazy!" Qrow yelled as he threw his arms out.

Though his laid back disposition they admired his lack of reaction to the gore that surrounded them. Simmons wasn't going to argue with the man wielding a giant scythe and he felt like they'd need the extra weapon.

Simmons returned to scanning the hallway. However, the lack of any action on the part of the Stalker made his mind race.

"What if the Stalker got out?" Nikolai asked the question they all feared to ask.

If that was the case, the security personnel and scientists wouldn't last an hour.

 **A/N: Yup, that's right ladies and gentlemen, we have a Stalker on the loose and this one can go fully invisible. Seems like atlas has made some mistakes on not telling the Helldivers before this occured. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'll see you guys next chapter.**


	27. The Harder You Look

**A/N: Holy shit this is a short chapter. For one part it is becasue of Semester Finals and what has become lovingly known on campus as "HELL WEEK". Due to this I am stuck pumping out papers and projects for my classes and not writing more for this story. But believe me, once finals are over, I can start writing more than ever over winter break!**

 **With that said, enjoy the chapter**

 **Sincerely, DELTAGOD**

"The Stalker, in case you haven't pieced it together, is capable of becoming nearly invisible." Simmons scanned the hall as he tossed that little tidbit of information to Qrow.

"I couldn't tell," He started, his voice laced with sarcasm, "Just how the hell do we find it?" Qrow asked as he kept his scythe held tightly in one hand, ready to strike.

Nikolai slung his rifle over his shoulder and reached behind himself, producing a tiny drone which fit perfectly in his hand. Placing it on the floor he pulled out a small laptop and typed in a few commands. Soon, the drone was buzzing and lifted off the ground before clanking against the ceiling, an angry chime coming from it as it lowered itself slightly.

"The Humblebee can scan for anything with cloaking, effectively letting us detect anything that might normally be hidden to us otherwise." Nikolai slapped the laptop shut and put it away before turning back to Simmons.

"Humblebee away sir." Simmons nodded as he started advancing down the hallway.

Qrow tapped Simmons on the shoulder and handed him his scroll. On the screen it showed a picture of Ironwood and an incoming call notification. Simmons grunted as he slid the answer button and held the scroll in front of him.

"Ironwood, this is Simmons, we're beginning our search for the Bug." Alarms continued blaring in the background as Ironwood responded.

"How the hell do you know what it is?!" Ironwood sounded annoyed and somewhat frustrated at their knowledge of something that had appeared with no prior records of it ever existing.

"Ironwood, just keep us updated on the facilities security, the Bug isn't in this corridor, it has to have escaped into the rest of the facility." Simmons fears were confirmed as Ironwood spoke… and then some.

"Security teams are reporting heavy casualties, a full site evacuation is underway." At this, Simmons and his team looked at each other.

The site couldn't be opened because if they opened those doors that Stalker would leap right into the world before it, starting the laying process and turning the planet into a Bug infested hell hole in a little under a month.

"Wait, a full site evacuation! This facility needs to be scrubbed, if those front doors open, that Bug will get out. We cannot have that General!" Simmons yelled into the scroll.

"We have to evacuate, my men will die…" Ironwoods tone darkened as he spoke, however, he couldn't finish his worry as Simmons spoke out.

"A whole lot of more fucking people are going to die if that thing lays eggs outside." Simmons cut off Ironwood as he hung up the scroll, they had their mission.

"We have to get to the entrance before the Bug, Qrow, what's the nearest path to the entrance." Simmons looked over his shoulder at Qrow who stopped to think for a minute.

"Follow me." Qrow nodded, a serious look on his face.

They ran down the hall, the security doors giving way to them, opening as they approached. They passed by the corpses of scientists and guards strewn about, their body mutilated, the wall painted red with their blood. The trio payed the scene little attention as the ran through. They had experienced it a hundred times before, maybe even hundreds of times when a colony sent out a distress call relating to Bugs. This was no different, possibly even worse due to the lack of a sufficiently trained and prepared security detail.

Super Earth colonies and outposts all had a garrison of Marines stationed in case of invasion. All personnel we well versed in combat and had some form or another of weapons training and could easily overpower a stalker or group of Bug scouts. These people looked like they had never had to fight something before.

"Looks like they barely even fired at the Bug when it revealed itself." Wulff commented as he picked up one of the guards weapons and saw the magazine nearly full.

"If i was them, I'd have been scared shitless by a 10 foot tall praying mantis too." Nikolai quipped as Wulff dropped the rifle and the three of them continued following Qrow.

They continued their jog before coming to the elevator. The door was sealed and a few bodies piled against the door answered the question of whether the Stalker got in the elevator shaft or not. The Humblebee lazily drifted over the group and scanned the corpses. Suddenly a quick chirp came from the drone.

"That's a boy!" Nikolai cheered as he pulled out the laptop and looked at the screen.

"It detected a moderate amount of Stalker acid mixed with the corpses, but the thing is… it's fresh." Nikolai said the last part with a bit of anxiety in his voice.

"We gotta be right on it's tail. And why do you sound so upset, I got stabbed by one of the bastards." Wulff casually joked as he checked his magazine and scanned their immediate vicinity.

"Oh shut up about that you cock, oh boo hoo it fucking stabbed you. We don't complain about all those times you've paralyzed our asses." Nikolai shot back as Wulff glared in his direction, the teams navigator ignoring the medics anger.

"Can it you two, there's a Stalker around here and we need to keep our eyes peeled. You too Humblebee." The drone chirped in confirmation as it bobbed up and down in the air lazily.

They stood there as the Drone buzzed off down the hall. The Humblebee beeped as it's sensors picked up increasing levels of toxins in the air. The sign on the wall that pointed down the hall read "Research and Development". Qrow looked visibly annoyed as the Drone halted it's movement and turned towards the group.

"Great, it's headed towards R&D." Qrow sighed, voicing his obvious disdain of the R&D department, the members of Hunter all looked at him.

"What's so bad about R&D?" Simmons questioned as they leveled their guns down the hallway, still on alert seeing their assumed proximity to the Bug.

"Nothing, it's just Ironwood doesn't really like having foreigners snooping around experimental Atlas' tech." Qrow grumbled as he looked down the hall the way they came.

"Well tough shit, we got a Bug to squash." Nikolai blurted out as he started marching towards the Humblebee drone stopped in front of the entrance to R&D.

Qrow was hesitant as he followed the trio down the hallway. The door was torn asunder and blood leaked through it. The room was dark, the oversized garden insect seeming to have done something to the power grid shortly after it's arrival. Simmons tapped the side of his helmet, the miniature flood light in the center of his forehead sparking to life, the wide beam filling revealing the room in front of him. Simmons signaled to Nikolai and Wulff who nodded before turning on their lights as well. Nikolai and Wulff had their lights mounted to their weapons.

"I really hate how I gotta point my gun where I want a light." Nikolai grumbled in slight annoyance since he envied the helmet mounted lights Simmons and, when present, Hastings had.

The three beams washed over various details in the room as they slowly advanced, the Humblebee leading the way. Qrow kept close behind the soldiers, having no way to see in the darkness unless they looked, or pointed their weapons, where he was looking. Although the Helldivers had Night Vision they weren't going to risk being blinded if the lights suddenly came on.

The only noise in the room came the electronic fizzle of destroyed lights, the crunch of glass underfoot and the whir of the Humblebee's engine. They continued forward past room after room of various technology and over the occasional bisected body. Just like before the bodies consisted of both science personnel, but these guards looked different.

"Atlas Special Forces…" Qrow Mumbled as he flipped one of the soldiers over with his foot.

"What of them?" Simmons questioned as he knelt down and observed the pitch black plating that covered the men, or at least what remained of it after the Stalkers acid had hit them.

"These guys are hardened soldiers, and well equipped to boot." Qrow let the body slip back over as Simmons stood up.

"Well, looks like their training is shit and so is their equipment… they were slaughtered." Nikolai stated bluntly as he swept over the hall with his flashlight.

The group continued forward, scanning the hallway and the rooms on either side continuously. Then something caught Nikolai's eye; the glint of dull yellow and black in one of the windows. Nikolai stopped in his tracks a second later, causing the whole group to stop as well. Backing up he shined his light through the window and his eyes widened.

Pulling his gun back he flipped it around and smashed the butt of the weapon into the reinforced glass again and again. It wasn't long before a web of cracks spread across the window. Simmons was about to stop Nikolai but he too noticed the object that had caught his allies attention, and he too joined in.

"What the hell is wrong with you…" Qrow started but was cut off.

"Mind your own business." Simmons snapped as the glass finally gave way to Nikolas's incessant pounding.

Simmons was the first one in the room, vaulting over the shattered glass. Making his way to the table at the far end of the room he saw it… and he knew that it was the real thing.

"Celia…" The name slipped out of his mouth as he looked through the shattered window.

 **A/N: Well, Hastings will be happy with this chapter, now don't forget to leave some feedback, I'm alsways open to suggestions. Until next time enjoy your weeks!**


	28. The More You See

**A/N: Holy mother of god it's finally done, the chapter that you all have been waiting quite a while for. I sincerely hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I think you will. With Finals over and a one month break, I should be able to pump out more content than usual but I'm not going to promise anything because when I do I end up not delivering. Well take care and enjoy the chapter!**

Celia sat there on the table. As far as they could tell she was perfectly fine and in about the same condition as when they had last seen her. Hastings precious RL-112 Recoilless Rifle MK 3 had been located and as far as the three of them could care Hastings wouldn't be killing anyone over Celia's disappearance now.

"That answers one question… but brings up another." Nikolai turned to Qrow as Simmons picked up the launcher and slung it over his shoulder.

"What the hell is Atlas doing with one of our weapons?" Wulff asked Nikolais question as they kept scanning the room.

"Not just one…" Nikolai added as he swept his light across the room revealing much more than just Celia.

Many different pieces of their gear rested on the tables in the room. Strips of armor and magazines among several weapons laid on the tables. It went through their minds in an instant, the crash site. They had clearly found where their transport had crashed over a month ago and what they salvaged now resided here.

"They know too much." Simmons grumbled as he patted Celia's strap across his chest.

Wulff and Nikolai heard Simmons worry as they approached him. Qrow was still in the hallway as the trio met in silence. Qrow was still watching for the invisible creature that had single handedly torn through several squads of Atlas security personnel.

"What now Major?" Nikolai questioned, motioning to the other tables in the room.

They all knew what must be done, they were just waiting on Simmons to give them the go ahead.

"Doc, you have any incendiary charges?" Wulff nodded as he pulled the several pound modified REC-6 charges from his belt.

"Good, plant those here. We must destroy what little they have on us." Simmons watched as Wulff planted the charges under one of the nearby tables.

As Wulff was busy planting explosives, Nikolai and Simmons made their way through the window and out to where Qrow was standing. Qrow was still scanning the dim hallway as they walked to his side.

"What the hell caught your eye?" Qrow questioned as Simmons turned to answer, however, the answer never left his mouth.

"Shit, fuck, ummm, son of a cock… uhhhhh this is… fuck." Wulff was blabbering… in a bad way.

Wulff only blabbered when something he had planned out went really bad or he messed up something he was ordered to do. In this case it could only have been the later. Simmons, Nikolai and Qrow went to the window just as Wulff dove back through.

"We gotta run… timer… 10 seconds." Wulff got out just enough to get the message through to Simmons and Nikolai.

"Fuck me, Run!" Simmons yelled as they started sprinting towards the exit, a rather confused Qrow sprinting close behind.

"Why are we running?!" Qrow yelled as Simmons turned his head over his shoulder.

"There's a saying from our Bomb Squad, 'If you see us running try and keep up!'" Simmons finished the quote as a tone echoed through the hallway.

They were nearing the exit of the hallway as an explosion rang out behind them. The faint shine of the napalm-fuel mixture in the air was replaced by a massive wall of flame as the mixture ignited. The fireball was rapidly gaining on them as they reached the door.

Simmons, Wulff and Qrow dove to the side as the fireball burst through the door. They watched as Nikolai passed through the door, his cape on fire as he dove to the ground, rolling around on the floor as the fire died soon after. As Nikolai stood up they all looked at what once was the R&D lab. Fires burnt out of control as oxygen canisters and other flammable materials gave into the raging inferno.

"What the hell was that! Ironwoods gonna kill you guys." Qrow yelled as they three of them returned an emotionless gaze.

"If anyone should be answering to their actions, it's him." Simmons bluntly stated as he motioned to Wulff and a smoldering Nikolai.

The trio started down the hallway, the lack of a Deathstalker keeping them all on edge as they scanned the hallway. If it hadn't been killed in that explosion then it was probably already making it's way to the nearest exit.

"What about back on SOD?" Nikolai started as he dusted ash from his shoulder, "How do you think Kane is holding up?" Nikolai raised a valid point as the trio stopped in their tracks.

Simmons gave it some thought before brushing it off. Kane was probably handling the situation quite well… he hoped. However, as he thought it hit him, they hadn't signed off with SOD before entering the Atlas base.

"Fuck, Map, get SOD on the horn! NOW!" Simmons was starting to panic as it had easily been over three hours since their last check in.

There was no doubt in his mind that a the "Contact Lost" contingency plan was going into effect as they were speaking. Simmons had picked up his pace as Nikolai struggled to pull out his radio. Upon pulling out his radio and turning it on he was greeted with heavy static fizzing from the radio.

"This is very bad, very very bad." Nikolai stated bluntly, staring at his useless radio.

"Well this better be an easy fucking fix or else that Stalker will be the least of our worries." Simmons added dryly as they neared the stairwell.

As they entered the stairwell and started to ascend, Nikolai's radio fizzed to life. a broken communication from SOD coming through. Albeit choppy, it confirmed Simmons fears.

"This is Lieutenant Erika Kane… SOD… Simmons... 5 mile radius… unless… establish… contact." Simmons could tell Kane was angry from just the short, half static, transmission.

"As far as I can tell, Kane wants to know we're all alive as soon as possible… or else she'll level the entire fucking base." Simmons tone was taking on a neutral disposition as he remembered all the scientists and personnel in the base.

"Qrow, get Ironwood on your scroll. We need him to get that jammer down." Qrow nodded as he pulled out his scroll, tapping on different options before handing the ringing device to Simmons.

The group had neared the next level as Ironwoods familiar voice came from the device.

"Qrow, what is it? Myself, Oz and Glynda have all exited the facility." Ironwood was outside, Simmons let that slip, their current predicament far greater than that door opening.

"General, we have a slight problem." Simmons stated as they exited the stairwell into a larger hallway.

"What might that be?" Ironwood sounded a bit hesitant to ask as Simmons took a deep breath.

"If you don't take down that jamming field this facility will cease to exist." Simmons waited for a response, however, what he got was unexpected.

"We cannot do that, if we take down that jamming field the white fang will discover this location in…" Ironwood was cut off by Simmons.

"Didn't you hear me the first time you idiot?! There are high velocity rail cannons pointed at this facility as we speak, if you don't drop that fucking jamming signal the White Fang won't even know a facility existed here in the first place!" Simmons was furious at Ironwoods sheer incompetence.

After a moment's silence the radio that hung at Nikolai's side fizzed to life, this time however the message coming through loud and clear. Nikolai pulled the radio from his belt and tossed it to Simmons. Simmons caught the radio and pressed the transmitter.

"This is Helldiver Major Arthur Simmons, Hunter 1-1, I read you loud and clear Kane. Over." Simmons let go of the transmitter as they all waited with baited breath.

"Oh fuck me sideways, Simmons! You're alright, what about Nikolai and Wulff." Kane sounded about ready to jump up and down with joy.

"Yeah, yeah, just calm down Kane. Jesus, how you ever got this far boggles my mind." Simmons quipped as Kane let out an annoyed sigh.

"Well, now that that's all sorted we can call off the strike. Now that that's over, What. The. FUCK Simmons!" Simmons nearly dropped the radio as Kane screamed into the other end.

"You've been on more missions than one can remember and you're cockeyed, flea brained self, forgets to radio in a change of plans!? You nearly had us glass a section of a planet. Well, I guess it's not the worst thing you've done on account of not following standard procedure." Kane could have continued her rant, and Simmons was thankful she hadn't.

"Now listen here Kane, there's a Stalker lose in this facility." Simmons words caused Kane to snap back to her radio.

"Wait, woah, woah, did you say that there's a Stalker down there, like an actual Bug?" Kane wanted to make sure what she heard was not just a mistake on Simmons part.

"Yes Kane, a god damn Stalker is here on this planet. The Atlas Bastards don't even know where it came from but I heard it was discovered around the same time we got here." Simmons turned back to Qrow and his allies as he finished.

"That's one specific coincidence." Kane sounded suspicious.

"That's my point." Simmons continued.

"Seems the only way to get any sort of information out of these people is to hold them… at… a... Kane, we'll call you back."

"Wait! Simmons, what the hell are you doing you piece of... " Simmons cut the radio and tossed it back to Nikolai as they made their way down the hall.

"What's the plan, Major?" Wulff called out as the noises of people talking and the general air of panic filled the hallway.

Simmons was about to respond but froze as he laid eyes on a few hundred people all staring at them. The group consisted of security guards, soldiers, scientists, engineers and even businessmen in suits. Simmons let a grin slip onto his face as he lifted his shotgun and fired straight up. A few people screamed and other crouched down as the security guards and soldiers raised their weapons, only stop as Nikolai and Wulff leveled their guns against them.

"Alright!" Simmons boomed as the murmuring and whimpering stopped, "We're gonna need your undivided cooperation. Or else someone might get hurt." Simmons looked over the crowd as a low screech echoed out down the hall behind him.

"Oh, now it shows its ugly mug." Nikolai exclaimed as he whipped around towards the noise behind them because only one thing sounded like that.

"New plan Hunter, we save these people and Ironwoods gonna have to tell us whatever he knows." Simmons plan came through Nikolais and Wulffs helmet as the screech echoed once again.

Qrow had joined the evacuees at the far end as the trio started backpedaling towards the soldiers and guards. The security personnel had placed themselves in between the Helldivers and the evacuees.

"Not one step closer!" One of the guards yelled out as Simmons threw his head over his shoulder.

"For Fucks sake man! We got our backs to you." Simmons shouted causing the guards and soldiers to take on a confused look.

A low growl echoed through the hall, the soldiers finally realizing why Simmons and his men had their backs to them.

"Hold!" Simmons turned back down the hallway, his shotgun raised and finger on the trigger.

Nikolai scanned the hallway as Wulff kept his mind on the soldiers and security guards behind them.

At the end of a hallway two razor sharp claws, three feet each, pierced through the center of the reinforced blast door. The claws twisted and turned as the screech of straining metal pierced the still air in the hallway. The evacuees were starting to panic as the doors peeled apart, two orange eyes peeking through the opening. The claws receded, the Helldivers weapons remained trained on the door.

"Where'd it go?" One soldier asked.

"It's going around…" Nikolai threw over his shoulder as he scanned the walls before eventually landing on the door at the front of the room, noticing the second set of doors.

"What's that door?" Nikolai asked as he pointed to the second set of clear doors.

"The outer airlock, why?" The soldier responded, Simmons quickly turned around, a new plan formulating in his mind.

"There are no opening in that airlock, right?" Simmons asked, nodding to the airlock.

"That is correct." A man in an orange engineer jumpsuit stated from the crowd.

"Alright then, before this Bug jumps outta one of those vent's get everyone who doesn't have a gun in that airlock." The security nodded as they started herding the evacuees into the massive inner airlock.

"They can breath… right?" Wulff questioned as a soldier nodded.

Wulff watched as a few hundred personnel were herded into the large airlock. Calm and collected was an understatement and almost made him think he was at a Super Earth Military parade. However, he was snapped back by a guard standing in front of him.

"With that many people, probably 10 minutes of air so we gotta make this quick." The guard stated as the inner door started to close.

"Or we could open the outer door?" Nikolai suggested with a shrug as the guards look at him before nodding.

As the inner door closed, two guards pressed their hands to panels on the inside. The outer door opened slowly. Effectively making the clear blast door the last door between the bug and Remnant.

Simmons turned away from the door and saw the soldiers and security that remained numbered at least 2 dozen strong.

"Alright men, it's 28 against one. This should be a piece of cake." One of the soldiers shouted as other cheered.

Then the lights went out, the only lighting coming through the windows on the blast door. The soldiers stopped their cheering abruptly, their previous cockiness evaporating.

"It's cut the power," Wulff mumbled as the guards and Helldivers turned on their flashlights.

"What kind of Grimm knows to cut the lights?!" One particular young guard exclaimed.

"The Stalker is no Grimm. Many good men have died by this Bugs claws. Stick together and we might just survive." Simmons laid out the grim news as everyone moved together slightly, their flashlights scanning every inch of the hallway.

"But it's just one Gr…" The guard was quickly cut off.

"It's one Bug that killed dozens on the floors below us!" Nikolai yelled as he flipped the safety and pulled the bolt of his Stalwart all the way back.

As the talked a vent to their left burst open. One soldier yelled as he unloaded into the vent. As he unloaded into the opening another vent on the ceiling exploded, showering those below it in metal debris.

"It's distracting us, playing off our confusion." Yelled a female guard, her weapon raised.

Two more vents broke as Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff all stood there in silence. The guards continued to spray at the vents as they broke but the Helldivers held their fire. They knew the Stalker would mess with them, the bugs were not stupid.

"Ceasefire!" The weapons of the guards went silent but they kept scanning the walls.

"It's made openings, I want eyes on every single vent that's been broken. The Stalker's gonna use it's cloaking to silently enter from any vent it's broken." Simmons yelled as the guards sounded off in understanding.

"So it can sneak up on us?" The young soldier called out from near one of the vents.

Simmons watched as the young man peered into the inky blackness of the vent. Simmon's eyes widened as he started sprinting towards the boy. Another guard spotted Simmons and put two and two together.

"Get the fuck away from there Allister!" Simmons hadn't gotten halfway as another guard pushed Allister out of the way as a large claw shot from the blackness.

Allister and Simmons could only watch as the rifle fell from the man's hands. A barbed arm protruding from his shoulder.

"Get it off me, Fuck! Help Me!" The soldier yelled as the claw pulled him into the vent, kicking a screaming.

The screaming died down as a sickening crunch echoed from the darkness of the vent. Allister was shaking as Simmons grabbed him by his vest and threw him across the floor towards his fellow guards.

"Davidson… Dust." One of the other soldiers muttered as they stood there in silence, their eyes glued to the vent their ally had just disappeared down a moment ago.

"And then there were 27. Don't go near the fucking vents!" Nikolai yelled as the tapping of chitin on metal echoed through all the vents at once.

"Well, this is gonna be harder than I thought." Simmons quipped, unfazed as he reassessed the situation.

It was now 27 versus 1 and the Helldivers knew it would only get worse.

 **A/N: Welp, that's the chapter, hope you all enjoyed it. As an additional note, I also have this up on Space Battles forum under the same name. If I don't update here on time more likely than not you can find an update on the SB forums. Again have a wonderful holiday and until next time! Suggestions are welcome and don't forget to review.**


	29. The One Piece they Had

**A/N: Well then, butter my buns and call me a biscuit, I completed the chapter on time. Not without some generous convincing from Lumox (E.G. "I'll drive to you damn house and make you write it"). Sometimes I wish I didn't live 25 minutes from that crazy bastard.**

 **That aside this chapter continues what most of you have been waiting for, a resolution to the man, the myth, the legend, his name starts with an H and ends with an S.**

 **Shoutout to Blackout42, Tophatguy(Again Jesus, thanks for all the reviews), and Westcompany for your continued support of the story. Now onto the chapter!**

"The first thing you gotta understand about fighting bugs is that they never play fair." Simmons stated dryly from the side.

Simmons, Nikolai, and Wulff all had an idea of what they were facing. Their impromptu conscripts, on the other hand, had no idea from here to the moon what the hell they were fighting. Simmons knew that the assorted soldiers and guards had no chance against the stalker, but if fighting it meant less trained soldiers to oppose them later on then so be it.

"A few sacrifices are always necessary." Simmons quipped into his suit's comms as Nikolai and Wulff nodded to him, understanding what he was planning.

As the plan started to formulate in Simmons head, the sudden rattle of metal and a low growl alerted everyone present to the Stalker's return. They turned to the source of the noise only to see a claw disappear back into the vent. The silence returned only for a second before a soldier's scream pierced the air.

The trio turned towards the yells just as an Atlas soldier was pinned to the ground by the Stalkers pointed arms. His scream dying as soon as he hit the floor with a wet thud. The Helldivers noticed a flicker of green light around the soldier just as he hit the ground.

"Oh fuck!" Another soldier yelled as she laid eyes on the Stalker and took aim with her rifle.

However, she was unable to fire as the Stalker quickly lurched forward and grabbed her head in its mandibles. Her muffled screams cut off by a flash of white light as a headless body tumbled from the Stalker's jaws, impacting the ground with a smack.

The soldiers and guards opened fire, the rounds denting and burning the Stalkers thick plates, eliciting a screech of displeasure. The Stalkers arm left the pinned soldier's body and swiped it's arm to the left. Two very unfortunate soldiers found themselves right in the appendages path. A loud thud echoed out as they sailed back into the wall with two sickening cracks. A similar pulse of light as the other soldier emanated from them, this time red and blue in color.

"Down four!" Yelled Wulff as they fired at the Stalker, their weapons doing significantly more to the creature than the Dust rounds taking out moderate chunks of both chitin and flesh.

The Stalker immediately realized the threat the Helldivers posed and started a beeline for the Divers, it's escape into the vent's blocked by several soldiers. Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff dodged out of the way as the overgrown mantis barreled towards them. Nikolai had opted for the roll and popped up to his feet delivering a burst of machinegun fire into the insects armor. The armor stood strong as the Stalker passed by them. The Stalker shielded it's head from the gunfire as two guards rushed the creature.

"We got this!" One of the guards yelled as they charged.

"No! Get the hell away from it!" Simmons barked as the two men reached the creature, now free to move as the Helldivers had stopped firing.

The creature watched as one of the guards raised his pistol and fired, the round smashed into the creature's angled head plating and did no damage. He realized his mistake too late as the Stalker raised one of it's claws. The claw shot towards his as the other guard jumped in front, a shield raised.

Unfortunately for him, a Stalker's claws can pierce the armor of a M5 APC with ease. This meant that the shield he carried had little effect. The claw passed through the shield and slowed slightly as it impacted a patch of yellow light on the man's leg before passing clean through.

The man let out a cry of pain before the Stalkers second claw cleaved his torso in half from shoulder to hip. The man fell in two pieces as the other fired his pistol again and again in desperation. The Stalker turned to him and rushed towards him, a green liquid spewing from the Stalkers mouth. Within a second the soldier was covered in green goo. A green light pulsed all around him before flickering and disappearing. The man screamed in pain as his skin and armor started to melt away from his body leaving his rapidly disappearing muscles exposed.

"Dust, Keep Firing!" One of the Soldiers yelled as he raised his weapon and continued firing at the Stalker, the creature showing no signs of slowing down.

21 Atlas personnel remained as the Stalker continued towards them. Simmons motioned to Nikolai and Wulff who spread out, their eyes pinned to the Stalker. Their guns continued to sing as the Stalker zipped back and forth, attempting to dodge out of their flashlights.

"Now!" Simmons yelled as he charged the Stalker.

Wulff took aim and landed a perfect shot in one of the Stalkers open wounds. The neurotoxin working rapidly as the Stalker slowed and dropped down slightly, it's motor functions slowly ceasing. Simmons sprinted in before entering a slide and narrowly missing a swipe from the Stalker.

"Eat this!" Simmons bellowed as he shoved his shotgun into the Stalker's mouth and pulled the trigger.

The Stalker's head almost evaporated from the shotguns blast. The body wobbled before falling to the side. The body continued to twitch for a moment before halting. Nikolai stomped over to Simmons and extended a hand. Simmons reached out and grabbed his hand allowing Nikolai to hoist him up to his feet.

"Well, that was a thing." Wulff stated, giving the Stalker's corpse a final kick.

Simmons looked to the nearby group of soldiers and guards who had all taken a seat or leaned against a nearby wall. One of them was messing with an open panel.

"Got it!" The one messing with the panel exclaimed as the lights turned back on.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as light flooded the room. The Helldivers turned off their flashlights and looked around at the blood and acid that was splattered around the room. For only losing 7 combatants, the trio had to admit they were expecting much higher casualties.

Simmons had just holstered his weapons when he heard boots clank against metal behind him. Turning around he was met with a half-visor. The bearded mouth of the older man in front of him was all that was visible of his face.

"I gotta hand it to ya." The man stated gruffly, his hand stroking his beard as he looked at the soldiers behind him and then to the body of the Stalker.

"How the hell did you kill that thing, I mean I saw the entire thing and our rounds just barely made it past that things armor." The man was clearly interested in the Helldivers weapons.

Simmons nervously adjusted Celia's strap before looking the old soldier in his visor.

"Look, we just came to ask a few questions and now we have more than we'd ever thought possible." Simmons finished in a deadpan as he moved towards the door, giving a nod to Nikolai and Wulff.

Simmons made it to the door and saw who else than Ironwood himself and his friend Ozpin standing at the door, seeming to be observing them. Ironwood looked at the bodies behind Simmons with a look of anger and disappointment in his eyes.

Ironwood pulled his scroll from his pocket and put it to his ear causing the intercom system on Simmons side of the door to turn on. Ironwood was about to speak but was cut off by Simmons.

"You have some explaining to do General." Simmons voice was still a deadpan as he stared at Ironwood through the massive blast door.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Garrett open the door." Ironwoods voice echoed through the room as the guard with the beard made his way to the doors control panel.

However, as he neared the panel Simmons started walking towards him and aimed his pistol at the older man's leg before firing. The bullet tore through the air before passing clean through Garrett's leg. The familiar flicker of what they assumed was Aura rippled around the wound as Garrett fell to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ironwood yelled over the comms.

The other soldiers in the room raised their weapons. However, as their weapons rose their realized something. Only one of the Helldivers was in front of them.

"Drop your weapons… now…" Wulff barked from the back of the room, his Paragon leveled with the Atlas troops.

Nikolai only reinforced Wulffs words as he pulled back his machine guns charging handle with a loud kachunk. The guards slowly looked to Simmons before looking back at Wulff and Nikolai. A look of defeat and betrayal crossing their faces as they placed their weapons on the ground.

"Good, now we can talk on even terms." Simmons mumbled as he picked Garrett up by his collar.

The man let out a grunt of pain as Simmons dragged him over to Ironwood. Simmons finally got to Ironwood and pushed Garrett's face into the glass before placing the pistol against the back of his head.

"Look here Ironwood, James, General, whatever the fuck you want me to call you. We want to know how in Gods name you have a fucking Stalker in your base!" Simmons screamed at the glass as Ironwood just took a deep breath.

"Listen here you piece…" Ironwood stopped as Simmons pushed the pistol into the man's head a little harder.

"Pick your words carefully, Prick." Simmons grunted.

Ironwood couldn't respond as he was gently removed from his spot at the door.

"James, you aren't much of a careful negotiator, allow me to handle this." The voice was all too familiar as In his place stood Professor Ozpin, the scroll now in his hands.

"Major Simmons, we have quite a history of improper and rushed conversations." Ozpin started as he took a sip from his mug before continuing, "It seems as though you have quite the captive audience and if you are willing to ask I will be willing to answer."

"On a private Channel." Simmons stated dryly as Ozpin nodded.

"Of course." Ozpin said as the intercom buzzed and Ozpin's calculating voice moved to his helmet.

"Now that's better," Simmons started, "I am sorry, truly." Simmons voice held a tone of regret but also anger as Ozpin listened.

"If there was any other way, we would have taken it." Ozpin was confused to say the least, however, his neutral facade held strong.

Simmons watched as Ozpin let out a deep sigh and adjusted his glasses.

"I understand you had questions, you can ask me whatever you want." Ozpin asked as he looked into Simmons blank visor as the Helldiver took a deep breath.

"Can you separate an Aura from it's person." Simmons stated bluntly as Ozpin's facade cracked.

Out of all the questions he had anticipated or guessed he would receive, this one blew him out of the water. Ozpin cleared his throat before looking to Ironwood.

"As a matter of fact there might just be a way." Ozpin stated as Simmons looked to his allies.

Simmons had never felt such a wave of relief wash over him. He chuckled as he let Garrett slide to the floor, his current mood swaying from one of anger to one of pure mirth. Before he stepped away from the door he turned and said one last thing.

"Good… that's…. Good. We'll get you back buddy, don't you worry."

 **A/N: There you go, finally back On track with the story and ready to steamroll ahead into 2017 full tilt. I hope you would leave your comments and suggestions below and let me know how I'm doing! Also please do suggest what you want to happen next or new characters perhaps!**


	30. A Brief Return

**A/N: One week later and 2.5K words?! Who the hell are you and what have you done with DELTAGOD!**

 **Also DMD Hanafin: Yes, you are so right with your points! Thanks for the feedback. And Yesboss21: Thanks for the feedback and support!**

 **Well, here it is, chapter 30. Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

Simmons turned to Nikolai, his suit in direct communication with both of them as he spoke.

"We need Exfil, Map, get SOD to send us a transport with Gunship escort. Their jamming should still be down." Simmons ordered as he turned back to Ozpin and the soldier bleeding on the ground as Nikolai knelt down.

Nikolai pulled out his radio, the action causing some of their hostages to fidget. Nikolai ignored them as Wulff continued to sweep his rifle back and forth, quelling any movement that might have been caused by the lack of a second gun.

"This is Hunter 1-2, SOD, do you copy?" Nikolai was quickly answered by the o-so-familiar voice of Kane.

"This is SOD, we read you loud and clear. We have a shuttle headed down for you and Gunship Archer Actual will be on target in 4. Over." Nikolai patched the communication over to Simmons who gave Nikolai the O.K. the end the Comm.

"Roger that, Hunter 1-2 Out. Over." Nikolai put away his radio and signaled back to Simmons.

Simmons returned to the door, placing his communications back on the scroll so he could communicate with the Professor standing in front of him.

"Alright Ozpin. There are two options here. One: We get onto that landing pad in one piece and you get you men back. Or Two: We stay here and kill these men before a fully loaded Eagle drops a world of hurt on all your sorry asses. What'll it be?" Simmons crossed his arms, the scroll dangling to his side as Ozpin took a sip from his mug and pushed up his glasses.

"We could have done without the language, and as you demands stand I see no other option but to let you three leave uncontested." Ozpin stated bluntly, his voice showing no hint of any emotion.

However, it was not that easy. Upon hearing the statement from his college, Ironwood stepped forward, snatching the scroll from Ozpin's hands.

"Listen here you Bastard, I don't care what the hell happens, you three are not leaving this base…" Ironwood was unable to finish as a powerful gust of wind washed over the landing pad followed by the loud whir of turbojet engines.

Simmons smirked as he looked at the Eagle hovering just off the landing pad. In the distance he could make out the shape of a transport.

"It appears as though you missed my demands General. Either we leave and you live or we all die. It's simple… really." Simmons was greeted by the door slowly opening.

The winter wind whipped into the facility as Simmons walked past a furious Ironwood. Nikolai and Wulff brought up the rear. However, as the transport landed on the pad, Simmons walked over the targeted Scientist from before, the whole reason this had happened, and grabbed him sharply by the collar.

"You come with us… we need you." Simmons deadpanned as the man let out a groan of pain, hobbling after them, his leg no better than the state it had been in immediately following the ambush.

Several Atlas personnel made to move on them but stopped when Ozpin placed his cane in front of them. Ironwood, for the first time in his life, felt helpless to aid his own men as strange men dragged him off.

"He can't do that Oz!" Ironwood protested as they all watched Simmons drag the frightened man towards the transport.

Upon reaching the transport Simmons pushed the man into the hold through the open side door. Nikolai and Wulff climbed in as Simmons stood in the open door, his hand shooting up to a salute as the transport started to lift off of the pad.

"Pleasure doing business with you Gentlemen." Simmons quipped as the transport started to ascend.

The door closed as he took a seat with his allies. The scientist sat squarely on the floor of the transport as he watched the helldivers in front of him stare out their windows of type away on their PDA's.

Nikolai looked up after a minute and saw the man sitting on the floor with the same stupid look on his face. He had had enough as he put his PDA away and pointed to a chair across the transport.

"Just fucking sit down already, we aren't gonna hurt you." Nikolai growled as the man quickly sat in the seat opposite of them.

"You might wanna put your harness on, it get's pretty bumpy in the stratosphere." Simmons quipped as he and Wulff stopped what they were doing.

The three of them stared at the man as a look of confusion crossed his face before the ship intercom came on.

"Alright gentlemen, we're gonna hit a rough spot once we break atmosphere." The pilot cut comms as the man sitting across from the whipped his head around and looked out the small window behind him.

The transport shook as they all looked out there windows. Simmons had to admit that no matter how many times he's left a planet's atmosphere it was always breathtakingly beautiful. The way the blue and orange give way inky blackness, and that's just what this scientist was seeing.

"From what we can tell by your planet's history is that you are probably the first living thing from remnant to leave your planet for the stars. Congratulations." Wulff deadpanned as the three of them started an awkward, off-tempo slow-clap.

"But, that's not… dust can't work in… how is this happening?!" The man was visibly shaking as he tried to make heads or tales of the situation.

The trio decided it best to let him try and figure it out in his mind rather than even try and explain to him nuclear power and artificial gravity. Instead the sat silently until the floating outline of SOD started to grow in the distance.

"Alright, SOD is coming up on our right side. A Freedom Class Heavy Cruiser. A true instrument of war she is." The pilot quipped, attempting his best tour-guide as the scientist pressed his face against the glass, the massive ship coming into view.

"No… this just isn't possible, no one has the technology capable of achieving space flight or even building something of this scale in atmosphere." The scientist was blabbering on at this point and Simmons knew they should probably get some information out of him before Kane has her way with the poor sod.

"What's your name?" Nikolai shouted, tapping the man on his shoulder.

"Huh?" The man looked puzzled, his previous behavior ending abruptly at the contact.

"Your name, you know, Bill or Joe. What the hell's your name." Nikolai was getting agitated by the man as he thought for a moment before a look of realization spread on his features.

"Oh! My name is Grau Wacholder, most of the other staff called me Garry." He extended his hand, a look of innocence plastered on his face as Simmons accepted it.

"So, Garry…. Welcome to the Sword of Damocles. Your new home." Simmons finished as the transport jolted and the loud clang of docking clamps echoed through the hull.

"We're docked, Major. Archer Actual will be back in 10. It was making a few stops on it's way back." The pilot salute from the open cockpit as the doors of the transport slid open.

"Excellent, now go grab some chow." Simmons saluted back as the pilot nodded before eagerly running off down the walkway towards the mess hall, intent on following the Majors strict orders.

They continued walking, noticing Garry looking at every single person, machine and device he could find with great scrutiny. After a minute he turned to them and scratched his beard before saying something.

"There are no Faunus here…why?" Simmons, Nikolai and Wulff all stopped and looked at the man, their emotionless mask drilling into his core.

After not even three seconds of silence Garry cleared his throat.

"Alright, let's just move right on then." He fidgeted with his hands as he followed close behind the trio of soldiers.

As they walked, Garry started to notice little things. The main one being that every where they went soldiers and crew alike saluted the soldier he had shaken hands with. Additionally he noticed people referring to the man as "Major".

"You sure seem to be popular around here." Garry stated as Simmons looked over his shoulder.

"Being the admiral has it's ups and it's downs." Simmons stated with a shrug, Garry seemed somewhat pleased with the answer and continued observing their surroundings.

Garry had continued to examine the ship, focusing on every little detail they passed. It was only once they reached the science department that he stopped for a moment. His feet frozen in place as he laid his eyes on the dozens of hi-tech machines laid out before him.

"This is the science department… this is where you will live during your stay with us, Garry." A voice called out from behind the four of them.

"Miss Washington… Ah, yes. Garry, this wonderful lady is second only to the chief Scientist aboard SOD. If you need something ask her." Garry nodded as he tipped his head to the woman in front of them.

"However, the lab is only one part in you purpose. Follow us." Simmons ordered as he saluted Sarah.

They walked down the snaking hallway before coming to a large doorway. The same one that they had been introduced to by Professor O'Neil. It was a strange feeling looking at the door.

"On second thought… let's ummm, get you acclimated to your new home!" Simmons finished with an awkward smile as Wulff and Nikolai cast him a strange glare.

Nikolai and Wulff simply shrugged it off as they followed their slightly disturbed squad leader back the way they came, Garry in tow close behind. They continued past the science department before coming to a long hallway with many strange flags hanging on either side.

"What are these… never seen of any kingdoms with flags such as these." Garry noted as Nikolai turned his head.

"These are all long gone kingdoms. They saw a need to throw away their differences and form a coalition." Nikolai half-lied and saw a look of understanding cross the Scientists face.

Garry did not speak as they entered the bridge, the towering nerve center that it was, and only stared in awe at the construction and abundance of even more technology. The quartet walked onto the raised section as one of the communications officers activated the shutters on the front of the ship.

They all turned as they large metal shutters started to fall, revealing the planet of Remnant floating below them. Garry ran to the railing and looked out the window, his jaw nearly punching through the deck of the ship.

"Only now do I truly understand what I was told. Seeing Remnant like this is… breathtaking." Garry continued to stare as the trio of Helldivers slunk away to the map table, Simmons picking up the phone on the table.

"Alright, listen up. I want scans done of the planet. All frequencies, all bands. I want drones on scouting. We have a lot to make up for to win the hearts of these people." Several cheers echoed through the bridge as Simmons put the phone down.

The clank of boots from behind them made their blood run cold. Only someone could walk that calmly and with such a purpose.

"Simmons…" Her voice dripped with a sort of sarcastic mirth as she spread her arms out to her sides as if accepting a hug.

"It's been too long," Kane started as she walked up to them, "How've you been." Kane's continued gentle tone made Wulff skirt around the table in slight fear.

"We've been better." Simmons started as Kane placed her hands on both his and Nikolai's shoulder.

They stood there in absolute silence as the map beep a few times, signalling the scan of the surface from SOD. Simmons glanced to Wulff who was keeping his eyes on the still occupied Garry.

Suddenly the intercom buzzed to life. It was Sylvester, but to the helldivers it might as well been the lottery calling their names.

"Kane, ere' tha ell are ye! Ya juss up'n lef wit'ou so much as ay excuse." Kane groaned loudly as she smacked the back of both Helldivers helmets, leaving them somewhat dazed.

As the door closed behind Kane Simmons rubbed his helmet before speaking.

"Well, looks like we owe Sylvester another round." Nikolai nodded in agreement as the alarm in the bridge blared to life.

"We have contact, an emergency beacon in northern Atlas. I'm patching it through." The voice cut out as static and then a pre-recorded message.

"This is June Mariner of the Atlas milita. Grimm are attacking en masse, but there's something else here!" The voice yelled as gunfire and explosions rang out in the background. "We don't know what the hell it is… they're attacking the Grimm to, tearing them to pieces." The person stopped as a loud, piercing screech echoed through the tape.

The bridge went silent as the tape repeated, this time quieter. The screech could have been nothing else in the galaxy.

"Vanguards… we need to get down there now!" Simmons yelled as he smacked the "Deploy" button on the console.

The sirens continued to blare, the signature 'Helldivers to Hellpods' voice echoed through the room as the trio sprinted to their pods. However, Simmons had stopped, grabbing a scrap of paper from a nearby terminal and a pencil from a communication officer. He hastily scribbled something on the note before shoving the paper in Garry's hand.

"You remember the scary lady from before?" Garry slightly nodded as Simmons continued, "Well, go find her and give her that." Simmons sprinted away upon seeing Garry nod in confirmation.

The trio of helldivers arrived at their pods, the doors sliding closed as three loud thumps echoed through the room. Garry watched out the window as the three streaks of light flew towards the surface of remnant. He watched for a minute more before turning and heading to exit the bridge.

"Kane… Hmmmm… I wonder if, oh! There she is!" It was just his luck that the lady from before was just outside the bridge talking to another person.

"Hello! Kane…" Garry was cut short as the woman glared at him.

"Who the… wait, where the hell is Sim…" She was cut off as Garry thrust the piece of paper in her hands.

"The man named Simmons told me to give this to you. He said you'd know what to do." Garry watched with mild curiosity as Kane opened the folded note and looked at it.

She looked at it for not even one second before tearing the note into a million pieces. Her breathing had elevated to an angry huffing as she pulled out her communicator. There was a moment of silence followed by the coming of armageddon.

"I am NOT a Nanny Simmons. Who. The. FUCK do you think I am?!" Kane was practically screeching as she threw a finger towards Garry.

"Yes, I understand that an order is an order despite coming from a partially brain dead piece of shit like yourself." Garry could make out a quiet laughter from the communicator.

"Don't fucking laugh at me! I swear to god I WILL kill you when you get back. You can bet on that." Kane threw the miniature radio at the wall causing the device to explode into a million pieces.

The Helldivers had gone to protect humanity, and here she was on babysitting duty.

 **A/N: Kane is really going to enjoy this... so that's the chapter and yes, there will be more in two weeks. Leave your feedback below and don't forget to tell me what you think!**


	31. Into the Frying Pan

**A/N: Yes, I am a week late, and yes, this chapter is a good 3.5K words. So in a sense it should suffice until next time. Enjoy this chapter and leave your thoughts below.**

"You sure Kane isn't going to disembowel you when we get back, Major?" Nikolai questioned as their pods tilted downwards.

Simmons sat on the question for a moment as the crack of the launchers and the pressure of the harness pushed their bodies to their limits.

"You know, Map, she might actually be serious this time." Simmons, Wulff and Nikolai all let out a nervous chuckle as the exterior cameras showed the surface of Remnant growing larger and clearer as they approached.

The pods shook violently, throwing them around, as they entered the atmosphere with a quick flash of atmospheric drag igniting their pods only temporarily. The AI came on briefly.

"Contact in 8 Seconds." The voice switched off of as Simmons gripped the handles on his harness tighter than before.

"Remember, we need to look good to these people… or at least what's left of them." Simmons voice turned dark as he realized this was going to be a clusterfuck between the Grimm, the Bugs and Atlas militia.

"Major, if we save these militia it won't be the military that'll be thanking us, it'll be the people who live there." Wulff had pointed out something that he hadn't realized before.

Back on Super Earth, the people and soldiers of super earth looked to the Government's needs. 'What can I do for Super Earth?' is the question asked by the people of Super Earth. No matter what colony you live on, no matter how close the enemies of Democracy are the Government comes first.

Meanwhile, Remnant is a hostile world inhabited by all manner of people. However, one thing stays consistent, be they selfish or selfless. They all care about their own cities and towns, the little hamlets and mining outposts that are scattered about the land. The government is, to everyone but these Hunters and Huntresses, a secondary objective during an attack from what they could gather.

"Major… Major!" Simmons was snapped from his thought by Wulff's shouts through his helmet.

"What is it?" Simmons looked through the video feed to Wulff's pod, the beady goggled helmet staring back at him.

"We have visual on the camera feed!" Nikolai chipped in as they all looked at the observation cameras on the bottom of the pod.

They could see dozens of black splotched bolting about the city, that confirmed the Grimm in the area. Next to the Grimm were a handful of muzzle flashes from building and towers scattered about. It was a relief to see the militia was still breathing, if not being slowly strangled. Then they spotted the real threat… dozens upon dozens of sickly green blobs with orange highlights jumping around, seemingly attacking without discretion.

"They are here." Nikolai mumbled in slight disbelief, still not truly wanting to believe the Stalker at the Atlas Base.

"Now it's our fight!" Simmons bellowed as he flipped a few switched, a pair of joysticks popped out of the side consoles.

"Scatter, help whoever you feel needs you help the most, we'll keep in contact via our personal comms. That's an order, Hunter engage!"

"Roger that, for Super Earth!" Nikolai and Wulff yelled their battle cry as they engaged manual control as well.

Their pods pulled apart, their spacing no longer a priority, as they headed to different corners of the rather large town. Simmons was having flashbacks to Waterson as he rocketed towards the ground at several times the speed of sound.

He waited a bit longer before maneuvering, waiting for the layout of the town to become clear to him. The pod bobbed and weaved as only 2 seconds remained before impact. Then he spotted it, a large Beowolf covered in white plating and standing easily 12 feet tall. Simmons bit his tongue as he pushed the controls of the pod as far as they could go. His satisfaction granted as they Beowolf turned it's head towards him.

"Gotcha!" Simmons shouted triumphantly as the pod slammed into the Beowulf's chest and, in a fraction of a second, turned the beast into a piled of mush.

The Hellpod dug a trench in the ground and jolted to a stop, upon hitting a nearby storefront. Simmons took a moment and shook his head, collecting his thoughts as the sound of growls came through the wall of the pod.

"Now, this is unique." Simmons quipped as he looked at the inside of his pod.

It was rare that a Hellpod failed to penetrate the ground due to the hardened metal tip on the base that gave the pod it's penetrating power and under such circumstances the force of impact on the walls of the pod with the ground would shatter the casing and kill the Helldiver within.

"Lucky… pfft... maybe… maybe just today." Simmons chuckled as he drew his pistol, the close combat yielding his shotgun too cumbersome.

Simmons took a deep breath as he heard the scratch of claws on the outside of the pod. He chambered his pistol and opened the pod door. Using the chair as a launch pad he pushed off and launched himself onto the street. Swinging his arm around he forced a spin. Raising his pistol he was met with two Beowolves examining his pod. They looked up slightly before being met with three rounds each. The burstfire mechanism working just as planned.

Simmons continued his short flight as he pulled his shotgun to his chest, not wanting to break it on landing. The shotgun on his chest he hit the ground with a sound thud, sliding a few feet before kicking his legs back over his head and rolling into a kneeling position.

Placing his pistol in its holster he raised his shotgun as three more Beowolf charged him. Flipping the switch on the side of the shotgun he started firing the weapon on fully auto. The shotgun kicked into his shoulder but he kept it trained on the hostiles.

One Beowolf was met with four shells to its chest, removing a large amount of flesh and killing the creature. The second one had it's arm and leg completely severed as it howled in pain before being brained by the shotguns pelts.

"Too easy…" Simmons started as the signature clank of a dry magazine echoed out.

The Beowolf shot forward, it's claws stretched out in a bloodthirsty hunger. He let the drum magazine drop from the weapon. However, as the magazine fell Simmons lashed out with his foot, punting the 2 pound metal case of springs and laser-cut steel at the Beowulf. The impact eliciting a whimper of pain.

Simmons grinned as he shot forward, his turn to go on the offensive had just started as two more Beowolves came barreling out of a nearby alley 30 feet away. Probably attracted by the fight going on nearby. The first one looked like the others, but the second one was larger and more intimidating. The plates that covered it looked aged, but not as full as the Beowolf he pasted. The glowing red eyes and white plating painted it a worthy opponent in Simmons mind.

"Damnit, I can handle two, maybe. But not three, gotta finish this." Simmons mind raced as he took his shotgun and flipped it around, the barrel now firmly in his hands.

A toothy grin ran over his features as he swung the shotgun as hard as he could. The metal stock of the Breaker was, like many non essential parts on Helldiver weapons, installed just for this reason. The reason being that Helldivers could improvise with their weapons once ammo was scarce or there was just not enough time to reload.

A sickening crack echoed out as the Beowulf's skull shattered sending pitch black ooze across the asphalt. Simmons followed through with the swung and chucked his shotgun at the closest Beowolf, it was so close that he could almost count the number of hairs on it's chest.

The Grimm was caught off guard as the shotgun slammed into it's nose. The beast staggered as Simmons took the opportunity to engage the second Beowolf. Sprinting forward Simmons produced his knife and Peacemaker pistol. As he passed the dazed Beowolf he fired a burst into its upper leg. The Beowolf crumple onto one knee as it howled in pain.

Simmons clashed with the armored second Beowulf. This Beowolf was different and clearly had some ounce of intelligence seeing as it opened with a swipe down. Simmons raised his knife to block the strike. One thing that he underestimated was the strength of the creatures. He felt his knees buckle and his arm groan as he strained against the massive strength of the creature.

The Alpha shot it's tongue out of it's mouth and let out what Simmons could only interpret as a mocking cackle. Letting out a yell of anger he pushed back on the Beowolf, clearly startling it in the process. Simmons raised his pistol and fired, however, he didn't expect the creature to deflect his arm to the side. Several wasted bursts entered nearby cars as the Beowolf lunged it's free hand forward.

He saw the attack coming and jumped backwards, turning towards the first Beowolf and pushing the pistol into the base of it's skull before firing. The Beowolf crumpled to the ground, letting off a thick mist. Simmons smirked as he looked at the clearly angered Alpha.

Then he looked at his pistol, the slide was locked backwards. Any soldier worth their salt would quickly slam another clip into the pistol. Simmons looked up and saw the Beowolf close it's mouth and stare right at his pistol.

"There's no fucking way it know's I'm out…" Simmons was promptly interrupted as the Alpha started it's charge.

The Beowolf was clearly leagues ahead of his allies in the intelligence department. These Grimm, from what Simmons could gather, were capable of long term memory retention. If he weren't so busy dodging the Grimms swipes he would have actually been moderately impressed that a creature that evaporates upon death could actually learn.

Simmons watched the Alpha close that gap, it's movements no longer erratic and rushed but only what he could call calm and calculated. The pitch black beast dodged the backhand slash from his knife and the quick pistol whip that followed suit. Both attacks missed, the Beowolf shot forward, headbutting Simmons in the stomach.

"Fuck" Simmons hissed as he rolled backwards landing face down on the ground.

His knife lay a few feet to his left. He saw the reinforced metal glint in the light of fires that burned around them. He reach out soon found a large paw in between the weapon and his hand. He looked up and saw the large Grimm looking down at him.

Looking to his right he saw the glint of orange and black amid the rubble in the middle of the street near where he started. A smile creeped onto his face as he rolled to his right and lept to his feet. Ignoring the pain in his stomach he turned and pulled a drum mag from his hip, deflecting an incoming claw as he rolled backwards, grabbing his Breaker mid roll, before slamming the magazine into the shotgun. A dull clunk as the slide shot forward, a fresh round in the chamber. He chuckled as he pulled the trigger, not bothering to take aim.

The Beowolf staggered backwards as the buckshot chipped away at it's plating revealing the soft flesh beneath. Simmons released the trigger as soon as the Grimm collapsed, his magazine only half full. He smirked as he observed his handiwork. However, he only had a second to relax as the familiar hiss came from behind.

He spun on his heels and fired with his shotgun. The spray of orange goo and twitching corpse left behind let him observe what they had feared, and confirmed, moments ago. The Bugs were here. He just hopped his allies were doing better than himself.

 **Somewhere across town...**

The cries of fear and anger followed by gunfire allowed Nikolai to find his way through the winding alleys and past burning shops. He had yet to encounter a single Grimm since violently smashing through the roof of a several story office building. He had watched Simmons pod enter a strange trajectory and lost sight of Wulffs soon after splitting up with them. He reached to his side and pulled out his radio.

"Major… come in… Major? Doc… How copy, Doc? Damn it!" He had already tried once before to contact them but to no avail.

'Looks like I'm on my own for now…" Nikolai accompanied his thoughts with an aggressive sigh as he let his Stalwart rest on it's harness.

The light machine gun offering him some comfort as he walked past another ruined building. The sound of gunfire and shouting getting louder as he put his radio away. Taking his LMG in two hands he jogged up to the corner and peeked around it. Several bodies littered the street, some of which had uniforms adorned with the same markings he saw in the Atlas Bases.

"The Militia." Nikolai mumbled as he half-crouched half-ran to the bodies.

Upon getting a better look he confirmed it was the militia that had sent out the emergency beacon. The bodies had a mix of slashes from claws, bites from fangs and sliced up clothing and tissue from pincers. The Bugs had been here, but the lack of anything other than orange blood and chitin on the ground went to show that the militia had failed to kill even a single one of the bugs.

'This is really bad…' Nikolai mused as he continued to scan the street for anything interesting.

However, Nikolai didn't have much time as gunshots rang out from just down the street. Looking down the street he saw a fortified building by the looks of it. Two people with rifles stood outside and fired at something out of Nikolais sight as several people inside fired from the windows.

"Get the fuck back here Michael. It's not just the Grimm out there, we don't even know what those damned things are!" Yelled one of the men from the window.

Michael turned around, halting combat to yell back.

"The hell I am! My wife and daughter are still out there! I have to get them no matter what happens." Nikolai listened to the man named Michael yell back on the verge of tears as the Grimm approached.

The sound of Grimm around the corner caused Nikolai to turn to the right, his presence not yet known to the men. Two Beowolves approached at breakneck speeds, right towards the man who was completely lost in emotion. The one fighter raised his rifle and pulled the trigger, only to find his weapon empty. A look of fear crossed his face. Suddenly, a loud buzz echoed through the streets. Yellow tracers cut across the air, slamming into the Grimm.

The Grimm half-rolled half-tumbled to a halt, their bodies filled with holes. The men in the street looked somewhat shocked before turning in the direction the shots had come from, their faces showing signs of shock and confusion. Nikolai stood up from his crouch and let his Stalwart lazily swing from its harness. He had to think fast, say something to diffuse the situation before they leveled their weapons on him.

"You gentlemen look to be in a pickle." Nikolai called out with a sheepish grin on his face.

His distance to them requiring a raised voice.

"Never seen armor like that. Where the hell are you from?" The other fighter in the street questioned, his hand pointing to the fur hood around his head.

Nikolai stared back at them, the reflective orange strip of a glass visor above his nose conveying no emotion to the soldiers. He approached them slowly, not answering the question until he knew he wouldn't have to yell.

"A concerned third party, let's just say… Now, we heard you had Grimm problem and… another problem. We're here to help." Nikolai gave the simple answer as he watched the Beowolf corpses disintegrate, the militia giving each other suspicious glances.

Nikolai heard a large door open and looked to the fortified structure from before. Upon further investigation "fortified structure" was an over statement. In all actuality it looked like a home someone had quickly slapped sandbags and barricades on last minute. Looking at the first floor, the door had opened up and several people had exited. Old and young, some even looked like teenagers.

"'We'?" One of the people from the building questioned.

"Yes… we. My associates are currently deployed across the town. Our mission is to help those we find. I heard you need someone found?" Nikolai added the last part upon remembering the man's argument before.

The man from before showed an immediate change in attitude. His face lit up as he looked back towards the people who had emerged from the main building.

"I assume you heard Michael down the road." Stated an older member of the group.

"The fool wanted to head into town during the attack to find…" The old man was silenced as Nikolai shot his hand up.

"I'll do it." Nikolai interrupted, the old man letting out an angry sigh as he waved his hand.

"Fine! It's not my fault if you die." The man grunted as he motioned for everyone to get back inside the building.

"I know…" Nikolai deadpanned as the man locked eyes with him.

Everyone walked into the building. The man named Michael stopped before entering. He looking Nikolai in the eye and walked up to him, pressing a sheet of paper into his hand before walking off.

"The direction to my house… please find them… I beg of you." The man was almost at the point of getting on his knees as Nikolai gave him a curt nod.

Looking at the piece of paper he noticed it had a few scribbled people and directions to the address 61 New Port Lane. A short walk from where he stood. He was going to be a babysitter in a Grimm and Bug infested city. Looks like the passive karma from Simmons giving Kane the scientist was finally coming back to bite him in the ass. As he walked off he wondered if Simmons or Wulff were getting a taste of the same cosmic justice.

Nikolai just sighed as he stepped over rubble and a few bodies that lay in the street. It was clear that the Bugs caught the already disheveled militia off guard, attacking soon after the Grimm had started their assault. He liquified three scouts with a quick buzz from his Stalwart as they reared up on their hind legs, unable to let out their spores.

'How have I not encountered any Warriors?' Nikolai questioned internally, as if waiting for one of the wanna-be killer lobsters to pop out of the ground in front of him.

The Warrior makes up the bulk of Bug forces. Boasting a considerable amount of chitin plating capable of deflecting glancing low caliber bullets on all sides of their body they can prove to be troublesome bullet sponges in large numbers. Warriors are also rather speedy bastards and, depending on where the slightly panicking Helldiver empties it, can eat an entire burstfire mag from the P-2 Peacemaker pistol. When all's said and done the Warrior, though a common encounter for Helldivers, can be a credible threat for even a seasoned Helldiver.

Nikolai continued his march down the road before coming to the street mentioned on the sheet of paper. The crumpled and torn piece held tightly in his grip as he looked for the house. Deep down inside of his being he didn't want to find several corpses just so he could tell the man he'd been waiting for bad news. He smelled it before he saw it, fire. The smoke that filled the street from the burning row of houses still passed through his filter.

He activated his visors thermals and found that the fire raging behind the smoke almost blinded him.

"Fuck!, There's no way…." Nikolai looked down as his eyes scanned through the smoke at the blazing inferno.

He was about to turn and leave when he heard something.

"Help! I-is anyone there?!" Came a muffled cry, coughing soon followed.

Nikolai whipped around and faced the direction he had heard the shouting. Pulling the paper up to his face he lined up the house. The warped and flaming mailbox just barely read 61 New Port. It was all Nikolai needed as he sprinted towards the building, his mind throwing out any previous notion of giving up.

He trusted his suit would withstand the heat of the flames as he barreled towards the door, brushing past the flames that bellowed from broken windows.

"Hey! Hold on, I'm on my way." Nikolai yelled as he kicked the front door again and again, not receiving a response from inside the house.

Nikolai cursed under his breath as he threw himself against the door. The wood finally giving way as he entered the flames.

 **A/N: There it is... with another cliff hanger. Hope you all can wait the two weeks for the next chapter.**


	32. The Return

**A/N: Looks like this is the next chapter in the story, and an almost 4K one at that. Sorry it's a day late but hey, college can be quite troublesome. Also, please be lax on the several word and punctuation errors that made it through the intense (Lies) spell checking and editing. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and what treat awaits at the end of it! Also Don't forget to leave a review and let me and Lumox know what you think so far.**

 **Sincerely, DELTAGOD. Enjoy!**

Nikolai felt the heat of the flames as they licked at his cape and pants. The flame retardant coating on the cape kept it from bursting into flames as he used it to somewhat shield himself from the flame. Despite the climate controlled suit the heat was quite uncomfortable and bit at his skin beneath.

"Is anyone in here!" Nikolai yelled out, receiving no response as he climbed the stairs noticing that the flame had not yet engulfed them.

As a matter of fact, the inferno had not yet truly reached the second floor. He looked around and noticed the thick smoke that filled the entire hallway from floor to ceiling. Nikolai kept his thermals on despite the heat, knowing that even a small splotch of low temperature could be the person he heard before. He continued down the hall as from his right he heard a quiet sob.

Without thinking he walked down the hall before approaching a single door on the right side of the hall. Lifting his hand he reached for the door and grabbed the handle. The handle rattled signifying it was locked. The quiet crying stopped as he heard a voice call out from the other side.

"Hello?" It clearly belonged to a frightened and quite young girl, "Is someone there?!" Her voice was picking up as she started to panic.

"Yes, now step back from the door, please." Nikolai pleaded as the girl called back.

"Okay." Nikolai waited a minute after the answer as he raised his foot and then shot it forward.

The boots reinforced sole collided with the wooden door, splintering the frame and tearing it from its hinges. Nikolai quickly scanned the room and laid eyes on two bodies. One belonged to the girl, her arms wrapped around her knees as she hid in the corner. The other belonging to the mother, her skin covered in soot and burns. She was clearly unconscious.

"Alright, what's your name little girl." Nikolai knelt in front of the girl, her eyes plastered on her mother, laying in the middle of the room.

The girl looked to be at least 4 years old by her size and speech patterns. Nikolai watched her eyes with sorrow as she took in the situation around her. Nikolai snapped his fingers, her eyes quickly locking on his mask as she remembered the question he had posed.

"Anna." She paused for a moment, casting a glance at her mom, "Can you help my mommy, she's not moving." Nikolai again looked at the mother's still features before looking at the girl.

"Don't worry, I'll get both of you out. I just need you to be brave." Nikolai put an innocent smile on his face, forgetting that she was unable to see the smile herself.

Nikolai quickly reached up to his neck and removed the long fur trimmed cape from his back. He walked over to the girls mom and placed his coat next to her before rolling her onto it. He looked at the girl as he wrapped the majority of her mother in his cape.

"Come here…" Nikolai beckoned as the girl slowly stood up and made her way over.

Nikolai let out a quick huff as he slung the mother over his shoulder. The girl watched as he held out his one arm and quickly scooped her up. She let out a squeak of surprise as he hugged her close to his chest, using his arm as best he could to create a barrier.

"Close you mouth and eyes. Put your hand over your nose. I'll let you know when you can stop." Nikolai ordered as the girl nodded, her tiny hands clamping down over her nose and mouth.

Nikolai looked through the door as the flames licked at the frame. He lowered his body and bolted forward, the weak floor creaking below him as he pounded down the hallway towards the stairs. Reaching the stairs he noticed they were now engulfed in flame. Then he heard something from the floor below them, the hiss of gas.

"Oh fu…" He caught himself as he looked at the girl in his arms.

He looked to his left and saw an open door leading to a bathroom. A window looking out on the front of the house caught his attention. Thinking on his feet he sprinted at the window. The mother was wrapped in his cape and should be protected from any glass. He tucked himself in, covering as much of the girl as possible.

He jumped at the last second. The sound of smashing glass was met with feet on roofing tile as he continued his sprint. The edge of the extended roof was quickly approaching. As they left the roof Nikolai quickly slipped the mother onto his chest with the Anna and hugged them tightly as they plummeted towards the ground. From the house, the hissing reached it's peak as a loud bang and pressure wave tore from the house, the gas supply finally reaching its breaking point.

The flame bellowed from the window as they fell. Nikolai clenched his teeth as he braced for impact. The first thing he heard was the sound of his spine shattering. The sudden loss of feeling in his lower body blending in with the sudden halt. Nikolai let out a quiet cry of pain as he opened his arms, the mother and daughter rolling from his arms.

"That came from New Port!" Nikolai faintly made out the yell as he clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes closed.

He turned his head slowly and made out the figure of the girl. She soon sat up, her hands still over her mouth and nose. Nikolai let out a pained chuckle.

"You c-can stop… now… Anna." Nikolai bit out as he coughed.

Anna opened her eyes and looked over at Nikolai. Her face contorted to one of confusion before the familiar expression of realization took over.

"There! Oh Dust…." The voice sounded closer this time.

Nikolai craned his neck to see the speaker. Though the pain was nearly unbearable he finally turned his head enough to see the face of the man from before. Tears stained his cheeks as he ran over to the woman wrapped in Nikolai's cape. He unwrapped the cape, the woman underneath taking light breaths, her eyes opened slightly.

"Michael?" Her voice was weak as the man picked her up slowly, taking her into an embrace.

"Oh, Rosaline." He half-sobbed as Anna watched on.

"Anna, where is she?!" Rosaline began to panic as Anna made her way over, albeit slowly.

"She's right here. She's safe." Rosaline looked over her shoulder at her daughter who joined in the hug.

They sat like that for a moment before one of the other men who had followed Michael ran over to Nikolai. He knelt down next to the Helldiver, the once yellow and black armor charred beyond recognition. The man reached for the helmet but was stopped by a gloved hand.

"Let me at least keep my helmet." Nikolai sputtered as he coughed.

"You… saved them…" Michael had stopped his hug and turned towards Nikolai, the look of joy on his face soon turning to one of shock.

"You're…" Michael was cut off as Nikolai spoke.

"Hurt, yeah. I felt my spine break on impact." Nikolai dryly stated with a chuckle as he tilted his head back towards the sky.

"Christ." One of the men muttered as they looked on.

"It comes with the j-job description. At least your families okay." Nikolai stated as he weakly pointed to Rosaline and Anna.

They all looked at the mother and daughter. The daughter was gripping the cape tightly in her hands as she pulled away from her mother. Nikolai watched as she slowly walked over to him, cape in hands. She stopped right next to him and held out his cape.

"For me? Why, thank you." Nikolai cracked a weak smile as he reached out and took the cape from the little girl.

Anna smiled weakly as Nikolai pulled the cape to his side and looked at Michael. Michaels face was solemn, unsure of what to do or say. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when the radio on Nikolai's side crackled.

"Map, this is Doc. Your vitals dropped. What happened. How copy?" Wulffs voice crackled over the radio.

Nikolai reached up and placed his hand on the radio, struggling to press the button.

"T-this is Map, read you loud and" His body was wracked with pain as he coughed again, this time blood splattered from his mouth, "clear. I'm in a bit of a mess. Do you have my co-ords? Over" Nikolai let go of the radio.

"I don't need your co-ords." Wulffs voice echoed down the street.

All present, minus a slightly paralyzed Nikolai, turned to the source of the shouting. Wulff was sprinting down the street with Angel speeding along right beside him. Wulff neared the group, their expressions switching to caution as they aimed their weapons. Nikolai noticed their actions and mustered what voice he could.

"He's w-with me, gah fuck! This hurts." Nikolai sputtered out causing the men to lower their weapons slightly.

"Jesus, Map." Wulff jogged over to Nikolai before falling to one knee at his side.

Wulff pulled out his medical bag while Angel zipped over to Nikolai's side. The medical drone applied the healing beam to Nikolai, dampening the pain and healing some of the minor cuts and sprains from the glass. The soldiers, Anna, Michael and his wife watched with awe as the wounds closed before their eyes.

"The business with your spine, however, is gonna take a bit more than Angel." Wulff stated grimly as he rolled Nikolai over.

"You guys got a stretcher of some kind. This is going to need some more space, and a safe one at that." Wulff motioned to the soldiers who quickly went into action, one with a medical cross on his shoulder pulled out a collapsible stretcher.

"Alex, get him into a stable position. June and Tarkan lay out the stretcher." Michael barked as his wife and daughter watched, hugging each other as they sat nearby.

The one named Alex inched Nikolai to the side as June and Tarkan unfolded the stretcher and gave him a thumbs up. The duo approached Nikolai as Angel left his side, the healing beam needing to be recharged. Angel docked with the pack on Wulffs back as the two reached for Nikolai. Wulff perked up and hopped to Nikolais side, unstrapping the radio from his back before nodding to the men. They continued and carefully lifted Nikolai onto the stretcher, a pained groan leaving his mouth.

Wulff swung the radio onto his front, the backpack for Angel already occupying his back. Tossing the strap around his back he secured the radio to his front before pulling the receiver from its clip.

"Hes secure!" One shouted as they strapped Nikolai into the stretcher.

They looked to Wulff who had the radio receiver to the side of his head. Depressing the push-to-talk he spoke.

"SOD, this is Hunter 1-3, how copy?" Wulff let go of the transmitter as the familiar voice of Fredrikson broke through the slight static.

"We read you loud and clear Hunter 1-3, status on Hunter 1-2 as to why you have his radio, over." Wulff looked to his side at the two soldiers currently carrying Nikolai in a stretcher.

"Hunter 1-2 has been critically wounded," Wulff hushed his voice to avoid the other hearing, "Termination to accelerate combat readiness would compromise the mission. Over." Wulff brought his voice back up as he moved towards the group.

"Roger that, Hunter 1-2 and 1-3 accounted for. Where is Hunter 1-1? Over." Fredrikson posed the question that had just now entered Wulffs mind.

"That is an unknown SOD. Last time we had verbal communication was just before landing. Will attempt communication and rendezvous, Over." Wulff put the receiver back into its holder as he readied his weapon.

Checking his weapon twice over he patted the several empty magazine pouches on his side before letting out a quiet sigh. He made his way over to the Militia and Nikolai. Michael motioned to his squad as they started moving down the road. Wulff followed closely, the eyes of the Militia scrutinizing him every now and them. Sometimes moving to his drone before landing back on him.

"So, you're the Militia?" Wulff stated with a dry chuckle as they neared the corner of the road.

"Yeah, at least what's left of it." Michael turned his head over his shoulder, the question seeming to be slightly condescending in nature.

"I'm surprised Atlas hasn't sent a military unit to help. From what I can tell you all are in quiet the sticky situation." Wulff feigned pity and sympathy while he worked his mind to examine the situation.

His observations of the current situation led him to believe that Atlas just didn't care enough to help. If his fellow Helldivers and SOD offered them enough help they might just convert them to their side.

"What do you mean? We've fought Grimm before, those other things are the trouble. And yeah, the lack of Atlas support has us worried." Michael stated, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"I mean yeah Grimm on one side is no problem but having Bugs on the other is sure to create a fucked situation." Wulff finished with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Bugs? What are you talking about." Michael and his group stopped their forward movement and turned to face Wulff.

'FUCK' Wulff's mind had shit itself and was on the verge of going down shit creek without a paddle. He had to think of something believable, and fast.

"Truth is, we've been studying these creatures. These Bugs showed up only quite a while ago and we've dedicated a whole lot of resources, and quite a bit of manpower, to researching and quarantining these Bugs." Wulff watched as the Militia looked between each other, their faces skeptical and confused.

"If they've been here for a while then why haven't we heard of them before?" Tarkan called out, turning around from his duty as stretcher carrier.

"Well, if you haven't heard of them until now it's because we've run into quite a problem. They're multiplying. Fast. And unless we can get the cooperation of the people of Atlas, we don't stand a chance." Wulff laid it out there, albeit changing quite a few details while still relaying the message.

"What you're saying is you need our help to keep these beasts at bay?" Michael assumed as Wulff grinned, he knew they would be easy to sway.

"Exactly." Wulff deadpanned as Michael locked eyes with his visor.

"I'm sure we can talk more about this, but first let's get back to the HQ, it's just around…" Michael was interrupted by a deafening roar to their right as they rounded the corner.

Wulff ran into the street and found himself visor to chitin plated face with a Behemoth. Multiple dead grimm surrounded it, their smashed and bissected bodies evaporating quickly. Wulff stumbled backwards as he snapped his head around and looked at the stunned Militia. The most prevalent emotion on their faces was fear.

"Get to your HQ, I don't care how slow you are. Move!" Wulff shouted as the Behemoth continued to stare at them, turning back around and pulling his radio out.

The pairs of orange eyes on the tiny face stared at them. If you saw the Behemoth emerging slowly from a dark alley you would first laugh at the tiny face and mandibles. However, that laugh and smug grin would soon be replaced by an open mouth and a requisition for new combat pants. The reason being the sheer size of the fully armored beast. Standing at a full 16 feet tall, outsizing and outweighing even the Helldivers TD-110 Bastion tank destroyer. The creature truly is one of the Bugs most awe inspiring and frightening warriors.

"Open fire!" Wulff quickly turned back around to see Michael and his Militia firing at the Behemoth.

Their shots either shattered on impact or just simply ricocheted off the near impenetrable chitin of the Behemoth.

"I said get the hell out of here you brain-dead fuck nuts!" Wulff yelled as they stopped firing, Anna with her ears being covered by her mother.

"You said you needed help…" Michael shouted but was soon interrupted.

"Yeah, but you can't help if you're all dead!" Wulff fired back as Michael recoiled slightly.

"Leave… save yourselves." Wulff was almost pleading with the incompetent, cocky asshat before him.

Without another word, Michael nodded and pointed towards the reinforced building at the end of the street.

"Move, back to HQ, we have to radio for reinforcements." Michael barked as his unit started to move, carrying Nikolai with them.

"We already tried…" Alex shouted but was quickly cut off.

"Again dammit, we have to try." Michael's voice was fading as Wulff turned back towards the Behemoth that hadn't even moved an inch.

Wulff stood up as tall as he could. His rifle resting at his side, radio still pressed to his helmet. The Behemoth continued to stare down it's soon-to-be-prey. Wulff swallowed a bit of spit that had accumulated in his mouth.

"SOD, this is Hunter 1-3. We have Behemoth." The line was silent before Fredrikson spoke.

"Good God." Fredrikson muttered as wulff continued.

"I'm calling for heavy air-support." Wulff heard Fredrikson typing something in the console as he spoke back.

"Eagle on standby Hunter 1-3, ready when you are. Godspeed." The coms cut as Wulff put the radio into it's resting spot and pulled out a stratagem beacon.

Rapidly tapping in commands to the ball it flashed a bright red light. Wulff smirked as he raised his rifle and fired at the beast, the shell smashing into the creatures eye. Sadly, the toxin in the rifle just isn't potent enough to put down a Behemoth as it just simply reared up and let out a window-shattering roar.

Dropping back to all six legs it started it's charge. Looking over his shoulder Wulff saw Michael and his Militia entering the HQ, taking up position in the windows. Letting out a low chuckle he turned and saw the Behemoth rapidly approaching. Determining the time was right, he let the beacon fly. It tumbled through the air before smacking into the asphalt. Clanking as it rolled down the road before splitting open. The bright beam of light shot into the sky.

The Behemoth passed the beacon just as the low rumble of jet engines pierced through the air. A loud buzzing filled the air as hundreds of 30 millimeter cannon rounds slammed into the Behemoth. The creature staggered as four loud clicks echoed out. Looking up he saw the silhouette of an Eagle in the clouds. Four laser guided missiles streaked from above towards the Behemoth.

Two of them glanced off the thick armor. Despite the two misses, the other two drilled right into the creature's armor and detonated. The shock wave traveled down the street and forced Wulff to his knee as dust and debris was tossed about. He scanned down the road, near zero visibility preventing him from getting eyes on the Behemoth.

"Eagle 1, this is Hunter 1-3, nice shooting. Direct hits on the Behemoth." Wulff saluted the fighter and watched the pilot wobble his wings from side to side before ascending back towards SOD.

"Affirmative Hunter 1-3, happy to be of assistance. You're on your own for 75, I need to rearm." The pilot radioed back as the thick smoke approached Wulffs position.

Wulff raised his rifle and started walking through the smoke, the only sounds he could hear were from either burning cars or collapsing structures near the blast zone.

'There's no way it survived that… hopefully.' Wulff thought as from the dust in front of him came a low growl.

"Oh you have got to be fuck…" Wulff couldn't finish as a large claw shot forward, catching him right in his chest, throwing him dozens of feet backwards.

He impacted the street with a loud thud as he rolled out of the smoke. He groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. He watched the smoke as a badly damaged, yet still very much alive, Behemoth emerged. Wulff readied his weapon as his radio crackled to life. However, it wasn't Fredrikson, it was SOD's general emergency frequency.

"Security Breach! We have unauthorised access on cryo deck, armory deck, and an unauthorised Hellpod launch!" Wulff's eyes widened as he put the pieces together.

From the sky a bright orange light cut through the clouds making a beeline for the Behemoth. Wulff could only watch as the pod smashed through the heavily damaged chitin on the Bugs back, penetrating straight through and into the ground.

"Impossible." Wulff mumbled.

 **A Few Minutes Earlier**

"Readings nominal, nothing out of the ordinary Central." James huffed as he clicked the radio.

James Gardener was making his rounds in the Helldiver cryo storage when alarms started to blare. His mind raced as he rushed over to the main console to check for faults. As he read the status on the Helldivers tubes one of them started to shake, almost as if the occupant wanted to get out.

"That's not possible!" Or so he thought.

The tube shattered, a slightly bloody fist poking through the reinforced glass. Slick with cryo gel it felt around the lid for the release. James was frozen in place as he watched the hand grasp the latch and flip it. The alarms continued to blare as the hatch sprung open. From the liquid emerged a 6-foot-tall figure. Piercing eyes and a nearly crazed look on his bearded face he whipped towards James. Nothing covering his body and he stomped over to the medical technician.

He looked the man up and down before ripping the pistol from his belt and tearing the id from his vest. Pulling his head back he delivered a powerful headbut before starting his walk towards the door and placing the man's id to the reader. The door slid open as the naked man walked out of the cry room. Intent on finding the armory, a Hellpod and his beloved. With a smirk he started down the hall, one phrase leaving his weak mouth.

"Hastings, reporting for duty."

 **A/N: There it is ladies and gentlemen, he's back, back again... hopefully for longer now that he's been out for nearly 10 chapters at this point! Again, don't forget to let us know what you think. Until next time, DELTAGOD**


	33. The Talks

**A/N: After three weeks this rather short chapter made it's way off my computer and onto yours. I am dreadfully sorry for such a delay and hope it will not happen again. Apologies aside, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it opens a new front for the Helldivers... an interesting one at that.**

The gaping hole in the center of the Behemoth smoked, the atmospherically-heated metal cooking the Bug meat emitting a putrid stench. Down the street, Wulff stared at the smoldering Behemoth with slight disbelief. Though his attention was not solely on the Bug corpse, but the Hellpod that had just killed the monster. Wulff struggled to his feet as Angel detached from his pack. The drone quickly pointed at him and started to treat his wounds. Wulff let out a quick sigh of relief, his fractured bones and sprained joints mending beneath his skin.

However, Wulff quickly brushed off the brief moment of relief as he started walking towards the hulking mass of flesh. Angel let out a surprised, slightly aggravated, beep as she struggled to keep up with Wulff. Every few steps, Angel stopped for a fraction of a second, blasted Wulff with her healing beam and then beeped as he stepped out of range again. Eventually, Angel completely gave up on healing Wulff and returned to her pack. As Angel was letting out frustrated beeps Wulff was having a slight nervous breakdown.

A hand shot from the smoldering hole in the Behemoth, the scratched and dull metal plating barely visible from Wulffs distance.

"Sweet Fucking Christ… it's actually _HIM_." Wulff mumbled as he watched the helmet emerge from the hole. If he had ever wondered how Hastings has been birthed, this was how he expected it to have been, the fully armed and armored figure of Hastings rising straight from the smoking corpse of a Behemoth.

Wulff heard the footsteps behind him as he turned around, the group from before completely ignoring his plea and joining him in the street. Michael was the first of the rather confused group to speak.

"What the hell was that?!" Michael half-questioned, half-yelled as Hastings hopped down from the massive corpse onto the street.

Hastings rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms as he walked towards Wulff. Wulff had yet to answer the question of Michael as his radio came to life.

"Fuck callsigns, Wulff, this is Simmons! I saw an Eagle strafe the ever living fuck outta something and a pod come down a block over. What the hell was that?" Simmons barked over the radio as Wulff just pressed his radio.

"He's back, Major… Hastings." Wulff and the group were met with silence as the dull thud of boots on asphalt echoed out from their right.

Wulff turned to meet the visor of Simmons who was currently hauling ass down the street. The previously held speed record being contested as Wulff held out his hand, noticing the militias sudden twitchy nature at a humanoid figure closing in so fast.

"He's with Nikolai and I." Wulff stated as they lowered their weapons, focusing on the figure approaching to their left.

"What the hell did you say!?" Simmons screamed as he screeched to a halt in front of Wulff, not showing any shortness of breath.

Wulff simply pointed to his left at the corpse of the Behemoth in the street. Through the rapidly dissipating smoke Simmons made out the figure of Hastings approaching. His heroic and carefree stride was iconic of his nature as he held his Camper marksman rifle loosely in front of his chest. Simmons let a smirk crawl onto his face as he turned towards the Helldiver.

"Long time no see…" Simmons smirk turning into a grin as he extended his hand.

"Damn right." Hastings forced out as he grasped Simmons hand tightly.

The two shared a powerful handshake for a few seconds before breaking away. Simmons turned to the militia as Hastings positioned himself next to Wulff. Hastings gave Wulff a firm nod, Wulff returning the gesture in kind.

"Doc, where's map?" Simmons questioned as Wulff opened his mouth to speak, finding himself cut off by Michael.

"If I may answer, your ally, Nikolai as you call him, is at our headquarters. I suggest we talk there. It's not safe out here." Michael finished as Simmons gripped his hands behind his back.

"You're right… Hunter, follow the militia, we'll regroup and update SOD from there." Simmons ordered as Wulff and Hastings faced Michael.

Michael gave Simmons a nod as his they started down the street. The Headquarters was, to Simmons and Hastings at least, a poorly put together mess and a terrible excuse of a fortification. Wulff had already observed the poor fortification when the militia had taken Nikolai off to its relative safety. Simmons was already noting modifications that could be made to the building to improve its firepower and survivability.

"Are you all that's left of the militia?" Simmons questioned as they approached the door to the headquarters.

"You could say that… normally we don't have much trouble with the Grimm, but then those other things showed up. We sort of panicked." Michael admitted as the lock next to the entrance beeped and the door swung open.

"But now with the Bugs… you got overrun?" Wulff guessed as the group entered the improvised defensive structure.

"Bingo," Michael replied, "we know nothing about these damned monsters." Michael continued as he placed his rifle on a nearby table, looking over the map that lay on it.

Simmons and his squad looked around the building, the interior resembling a living room with various tables and knick knacks decorating the room. Next to the oddities lay weapons and ammunition. It really did seem as though this was about as Militia as you could get.

"We have a proposition for you gentlemen." Simmons announced, the militia turning to face him.

"What might this proposition entail?" Another voice rang out from another room.

Simmons turned to face a rather gruff looking individual approaching from a nearby doorway. Greying hair and a scar over his left eye, leaving the milky white orb bobbing about. Bald on his head he topped the list for the most menacing person on remnant Simmons had ever seen.

"June Mariner, commander of the Volkflutchen Militia." June gave a weak salute to Simmons who simply stared in return.

"Mariner, our organization received your distress call and responded as fast as we could. Suffice it to say, Atlas doesn't give a rats ass about you." June nodded in solemn understanding, folding his arms across his chest.

"Could've guessed as much myself… Sorry, I don't believe we've met before." June motioned to Simmons who had just walked over to an armchair and plopped down.

"Simmons, as for my men, that one over there is Wulff and the mute is Hastings. I'm sure you've seen the last member, Nikolai was carried over here for medical attention." Simmons finished as June rubbed his chin.

"Ah, yes, Nikolai. That bastard has quite the mouth on him." June chuckled, clearing his throat a second later.

June looked back to the map on the table. His eye scanning the paper as he let out a sigh. Looking up he walked over the the other armchair in the room, taking a seat across from Simmons. June placed his elbows on the armrests and placed his chin on his steepled hands.

"Mr. Simmons, you said you had a proposal. What might it be?" June asked as Simmons simply smirked under his helmet.

"I'm happy to see you have some interest, Mariner." Simmons just glanced at Hastings and Wulff who returned his glance with slight nods.

'This should be interesting' Simmons thought as the talks commenced.

 **A/N: Well, there it was. Gone in a flash. I really need to work on this but also need to focus on college work. Just leave some feedback and let us know what you think about the story so far!**


	34. It has it's ups

**A/N: Yes, another short chapter here. It seems as though writing these is becoming as equally time-consuming as it is tedious. I will try and get a system down that creates space for work and writing so I can keep bringing these chapters to you guys.**

June sat there, opposite of Simmons as the remaining militia milled around checking their weapons and pointing at various spots on the map. Wulff and Hastings also partook in the milling about, their weapons slung over their shoulders. Wulff leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as he kept his visor leveled at June. Meanwhile, Hastings stood ramrod straight, hands clasped behind his back, the hard case for his pistol unhooked and ready to draw, just in case.

June took a deep breath as he leaned forward in his seat, hands on the armrests.

"I'm sure you're worried about your friend, Nikolai. I will assure you now, he is doing much better. I have to say, that small flying drone you have is quite a miracle worker." June stated with a chuckle, Simmons easing up at his remark.

"Yes she is, semi-sentient and quite capable of expressing her emotions." Simmons threw back as June let a smile crack his dry lips.

As if on cue, Angel drifted into the room and over to Wulff. Wulff noticeably perked up as the lazy drone folded up and clamped onto the pack on his back. To emphasize her lack of energy she let out a slow, droning beep before entering her charging state.

"That's quite adorable…" June mumbled, Simmons shooting him a slightly worried and confused look.

June quickly cleared his throat and looked back at Simmons. Simmons dropped his expression, admittedly forgetting that Mariner couldn't see his face.

"Now, onto your proposition?" June started.

"Ah, yes…" Simmons reached around and pulled out his PDA, the screen lighting up as it turned on.

However, as he waited for the device to load he reached over and pressed a button on his wrist, unmuting the closed circuit between himself and SOD.

"SOD, this is Hunter 1-1, how copy." Simmons spoke, his helmet preventing himself from being heard by Mariner.

"Major, we've got a serious problem up here. There's been a breach in Cryo containment and Hastings has escaped…" Simmons quickly cut Fredrickson off.

"It's fine, Hastings is with us, there's no need to worry SOD. Now about what I really need." Simmons continued, the pause from SOD making him slightly weary.

"Alright, if you say so. What do you need?" Fredrickson questioned as Simmons thought for a moment, his mind glazing over the fact that Hastings was no longer in the cryo pod.

"Can you send me the inventory of SOD." Without a moment of hesitation he heard keys clacking.

"Affirmative, the inventory and material stores of SOD are on the way. Let us know if you need anything else Major. Also, please take care of Hastings… he's quite fragile right now." Simmons gave a slight nod as he looked at his PDA, pushing those last words to the back of his mind, at least until the talks were over.

A second later the PDA buzzed, the file had arrived just in time. Simmons opened the file and turned the PDA around, having only given the list a brief look.

"What is this?" June questioned as he looked at the list of various materials, vehicles and weapons.

"You need weapons, materials, transportation… protection." June sat back in his seat as Simmons continued, "We have what you need and we can offer you our support and protection. We have the means to give you peace of mind, the means to instantly respond to the Grimm and those Bugs." Simmons paused, June stroking his chin as a look of suspicion creeped onto his face.

"What's the catch…" Junes query was to be expected, Simmons knew there was no way sugar coating it.

"In return, we want your loyalty and Dust. Lien means nothing to us," Simmons started as June frowned, "We could have left you here to drown in the flood of Grimm and Bugs, but we didn't. We dropped in and risked our lives when Atlas, a supposed powerful government, didn't even bat an eye. They left you to die, and we saved you." Simmons could see the gears in June' head turning as he smiled behind his visor.

June stood up from his seat, one hand on his hip and another on his chin. The facts laid out right there before him. He couldn't just deny that the toll of the day's events had been because of Atlas' lack of assistance. So many people had died and here was this group promising protection after just demonstrating their own dedication. He had heard the reports from his men and suffice it to say he was impressed.

"It looks like the Grimm are pulling back… and so are those things." Came a yell of surprise from the other room as one of the militia fighters walked in.

"The reports are like nothing we've seen. It's a full-scale retreat, looks like they hurt them enough to make them rethink their actions." The soldier quipped as he motioned to Simmons.

"The reason the Bugs are pulling back is their fear of losing another powerhouse. That Behemoth was one of their strongest fighters and, as far as they're concerned, a great loss. They will be back… soon." Simmons added as June and the soldier looked to him.

The soldier turned to June who waved him off. June then turned back to Simmons his face holding a look of concern.

"You have helped us today, that is true. But how do we really know you're here to stay. In these times one can only be so trusting with not only the Grimm but now these Bugs running around." June finished as he sat back down in the chair.

"I assure you," Simmons started as he leaned forward, "We will do everything in our power to protect you and your people from the dangers of this world. As long as we hold the title of Helldiver we shall fight for anyone who requires assistance." Simmons placed a hand on his chest as he watched June lean back in his seat.

"As the appointed leader of this group, and the inhabitants of this town, I would like to accept your offer of protection and support in these dark times." June stood up, Simmons following suit, as the room quieted.

June held out his hand. Simmons smirked as he reached out with his and grasped Junes firmly. They shared the binding handshake for a minute, June smiling and the militia in the room clapping as the other Helldivers stood silently. The pact was sealed and the first town of many stood under Super Earth jurisdiction.

 **A/N: There was the chapter, another short one in over two weeks time. Sorry guys, I've been losing steam on this one for the time being. Might have to take a break so if you don't see a chapter in two weeks that's why.**


	35. And It's Downs

**A/N:** **Yes the story is still alive... but first a** **brief explanation of what's transpired in the past few months...**

 **Lumox: Hey Delta...** **  
** **Delta: Yeah Lumox?  
** **Lumox: I'm uh... joining...  
Delta: Joining in to edit, great, now help me...  
** **Lumox: No, I'm joining the Marines at the end of the summer.** **  
** **Delta:...** **  
** **Lumox:...  
** **Delta:... W O T**

 **Yeah, so Lumox, my slave driver/Best Friend/ Co-Writer/Motivation is joining the USMC at the end of the summer and has quite literally no free time to help write.**

 **I'm proud of him, that he's going to be serving the county. It's been a great 2-and-a-half years writing this story with you Lumox but duty quite literally calls you.**

 **So from now on it's going to be pretty much just myself, you guys and my shitty motivation. I hope you all can accept this change and forgive my 7 month hiatus. Now onto the chapter that is way too short but took 7 months to write.**

 **36 Hours Later**

Soldiers wearing the familiar yellow and black fatigues carted crates towards the small park in the center of Volkflutchen. The pile of supplies had been steadily growing as transports from SOD arrived every hour.

The deal made just over a day ago, to the people of Volkflutchen, was the correct choice. The inhabitants were fully in favor of the Helldivers and their organization. Their acceptance of the soldiers only quickened by the lack of any response from Atlas.

Looking out the large window from the militia headquarters Simmons watched the militia carry crates, blue and white armbands on their sleeves. The familiar rising wings and city perched atop a world shaped differently from Remnant. Some people questioned this oddity but were quickly reassured it was to include the whole of remnant, not favoring a single group of people.

Simmons rested his hand on his helmet as he held the radio in his other hand.

"The second you set foot on the Damocles I WILL gut you…" Kane seethed through the radio as Simmons held the device away from his helmet, turning the volume dial down.

"Oh come on, he's not that bad." Simmons quipped in reference to the Atlas scientist left to the devices of Kane's tender, loving care.

"Simmons…" Kane hissed.

"Alright, jeez… now about Hastings." Simmons tone changed.

He spoke softly as he looked over his shoulder at the Helldiver on the other side of the room. Hastings was sitting on a rather comfy couch with his feet kicked up on the ottoman. Nikolai and Wulff sat in matching armchairs off to the sides, their weapons resting against the sides of the chairs. In all actuality Simmons was worried about Hastings, his newfound mortality a game changer.

"Yes… this might be something for Miss Washington. We'll discuss your predicament later..." Simmons could almost feel the anger in Kane's voice as the radio crackled, another voice taking Kane's place.

"Hello, Major. I'm sure you're aware of Hastings rather… bold escape from his own cryogenic housing." Sarah paused for a moment before continuing, "And how it has left him rather… vulnerable for a lack of a better word." Simmons knew exactly what Sarah was talking about.

Hastings, now no longer hooked into the cloning facilities aboard SOD, would not be able to come back if he expired on the planet's surface. Death was a fact that they were made clear of time and time again, the most recent one involving the two pilots recently killed. Simmons was not willing to lose Hastings but he doubted Hastings held his life to any sort of value.

"I am aware of this… though I doubt any suggestion you would make to him on keeping him out of the fight would be rejected." Simmons heard Sarah sigh through the radio.

"Understood, Major. We will try to see what the Scientist from the planet's surface knows about Aura and Dust. We will keep you posted." The radio cut out as Simmons turned and walked to Nikolai, handing him the device.

"So, what's the situation." Wulff questioned from his seat.

"Hastings, as of this moment, is capable of dying... permanently." Simmons let it sink in, the room going silent.

"Well, let's just make sure he doesn't die." Nikolai stated with a chuckle, Hastings joining in with a rather dry laugh of his own.

"I guess that's one way to put it." Simmons chuckled, Wulff giving a snort of approval himself.

"At this point we've been fighting for decades, dying again and again only to come back while others remain dead. We have seen more in our lives than thousands of soldiers put together." Simmons finished with a tired sigh as he sat down in a wooden chair across from the trio.

Hastings was the first to act, a slow clap rising as he gave a mock applause. Wulff and Nikolai joined, their hands mirroring the applause rising from Hastings.

"Well said," Hastings grumbled out, "It's about time I had something to look forward to." Hastings grim remark gave the other three a brief moment of pause, the four looking between each other.

Wulff was about to speak as a quick rap on the door drew their attention. A quick "Come in" from Simmons was all the visitor needed before opening the door.

"Good morning Simmons, how are you today." June asked as he made his way through the fram and over to Simmons.

Turns out June was also the mayor of Volkflutchen along with being the leader of the militia. June stomped up to Simmons before placing his hand on his shoulder, the blue and white armband sliding down his thin arm.

"I'm doing well Marnier, how are the shipments?" Simmons added, the face of the old man lighting up as he pushed the armband back into place.

"They are spectacular, these weapons and supplies might be different than what we have but outclass them in nearly every aspect. Those rifles, boy do those things kick, but they'll put down a Beowolf at 800 meters no problem." June chuckled as he patted the rifle at his side, the familiar shape of the trusty AR-19 'Liberator' made Simmons smirk.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind but we've gathered the unoccupied citizens out in the courtyard, they wish to hear a few words from the men who helped save them." June added with a smile. Simmons looked to his squadmates who nodded in agreement.

"I don't see why not, lead the way Mariner." Simmons said with a chuckle as he motioned to the door, Mariner let out a laugh as he moved towards the door.

"I'm glad you're willing." Mariner said over his shoulder as they exited the room and headed down the stairs.

The group left the building flanked on both sides by the militia of Volkflutchen. Simmons pondered the name of the town. It had no real translation but mimicked Old-Earth German. Perhaps the nation of Atlas was comparable to the Germany of Old Earth. He cleared his mind as they neared a makeshift platform in the middle of the small park just across the street. The group that had gathered in front of it neared 200 people.

"I'm not much of a public speaker." Nikolai stated with mock nervousness, leaning over to Simmons in a joking manner.

"Shut up Map, I'll do the talking… unless Wulff has something to say." Simmons turned to Wulff who gave a shrug as they crossed the street and approached the stage.

"Oh, June, might I ask something?" Nikolai questioned as they reached the steps. June raised his eyebrows as he nodded.

"Sure, go ahead." June replied.

"Back when you were putting me on the stretcher, why was Michael giving the orders?" Two of the militia stopped at the base of the steps chuckled, avoiding Junes gaze. June turned back and cleared his throat, a bit of red on his cheeks.

"I'm not really a frontline soldier, or at least wasn't supposed to be…" June started, rubbing his neck, "Michael is the frontline commander for our forces, we had just lost so many that i needed to join him, realizing his situation with his wife and daughter." June stated.

"And since Michael had more experience…" Nikolai paused, seeing if June would finish.

"Yes, it would only seem right that the one experienced in combat lead us." June finished as they reached the top of the steps. A wave of clapping and cheers reached their ears.

"Again… thank you for saving them both." June said with a smile over the cheering, giving Nikolai a firm pat on the shoulder before stepping in front of the group.

June walked up to the makeshift podium where a single microphone was mounted. June held his hand above his head, the crowds cheers dying soon after. He cast his gaze over the group gathered in front of the stage.

"Yesterday we were attacked by the Grimm and a strange new enemy." June let the silence soak into the crowd of civilians and militia. "It was swift and brutal, with casualties… reaching numbers never before seen. Though we have four men to thank for it not being much worse." June motioned to the four black and yellow clad soldiers standing at the back of the stage, weapons held ready but relaxed.

"I have spoken with them, and they only wish to help us survive in this cruel world that surrounds us. I'm sure most of you have also heard of these men's heroics and actions. I will now give the stage to Helldiver Major, Arthur Simmons." June turned as Simmons and his squad started towards the podium.

"My rank and name? How?" Simmons whispered as he passed June.

"When you responded to our SOS, you gave me that information." June smirked as he waved it off.

Simmons grumbled as he remembered the response to the SOS, giving his title as Helldiver and his rank. Information he could have saved until another time perhaps. Tossing it aside he took the wireless microphone from the stand. He moved in front of the podium and faced the crowd, hand tightening on the device. Several Super Earth soldiers from SOD noticed him on the stage and stopped what they were doing, sitting on boxes or standing, waiting to see what their commander had to say.

Silence weighed heavy on the crowd as Simmons' faint breathing came from the speakers. Then the silence broke.

"The Grimm… the Bugs… the White Fang." His voice boomed across the park, their eyes trained on him.

"They all have the same thing in common: The total destruction of humanity. They seek to swallow the light we grasp for. The light we climb mountains to reach… only to be kicked down by these evils. But we will not falter, we will not stumble, we will not give an inch to them. We are humans, we will die before we even think of surrendering." Shouts of agreement rose from the crowd.

"My men and I have fought for what we believe: A new Remnant. One free of tyranny and evil. A Remnant free of Grimm, Bugs and self-righteous terrorists. I will not stop... though my gun has run dry, my body freed of its blood, and the Grimm clawing at my door. I will fight long days and sleepless night to reach this vision." Simmons shouted, fist raised high, the reception was stronger with more cheers and clapping. He lowered his hand and waited for the cheers to stop before continuing.

"Atlas has abandoned you. No Hunter was sent to your aid, no soldier came to your defense, and knowing those selfish bastards they're probably sitting at their desks calculating the dent in their pockets. To them, you are nothing but numbers on a page, assets lost... bullets saved. Cheapskates at heart." Simmons smirked as he watched their eyes glaze over with hate, a deep seated hate for Atlas was starting to form, a hold on their hearts and minds was forming.

"Unlike Atlas, we will help you. Weapons, ammunition, and soldiers." Several of the Super Earth soldiers in the crowd cheered and whooped. "These men have served by my side for years. I trust them with my life and they trust me with theirs. I us to soon have the same level of trust that I have with my men. Each city that stands with us must share this trust to ensure survival. Without trust there is uncertainty and with uncertainty comes hesitation…. And all it takes is one moment of hesitation for the Grimm, Bugs and White Fang to mercilessly and swiftly destroy us." The crowd listened as Simmons pulled them in tighter and tighter, the corners of his mouth pulling into a grin.

"I, Arthur Simmons, promise to bring to Remnant an age of true peace where you won't have to worry about the creatures of darkness or terrorists who would kill you for thinking differently. Atlas has wronged us as well and we certainly won't stand for them wronging their supposed citizens." The crowd cheered in response, Simmons stepping back to take a breath.

"Starting later today, soldiers under my commander will join the ranks of your militia. They are battle hardened and have faced threats several times as deadly as the Grimm. They will die before they run and I guarantee that they will put up a better fight than those Atlas assault robots." Simmons was met with clapping as he watched another 2 transports land on the other side of the park.

"Before I leave i must say one thing…" He paused as the crowd waited for his final words.

"This is the beginning of a new chapter in Remnants history. You are the beginning, the first members of a new world. A world free of the horrors and hate of the old world. We are turning the page and starting this chapter not as leader and follower, but as a whole. Are you with me!" Simmons boomed, his fist raised high above his head.

His cry was met with the cheers of the masses. He smiled widely under his helmet as he held his fist high. Those below him raising their fists above their heads in kind. Simmons knew that they would never truly understand when the day came that they were only a small piece in the puzzle of Super Earth and her colonies.

With his fist lowered he turned and walked back towards his squad, the boulder was rolling… and it was picking up a hell of a lot of speed.

 **There we go, Christ on a Bike... I am really sorry everyone for this taking so long to get out the door** **  
** **Please PM me if you notice any** **grammatical errors since... you know... no real editor now.  
Any and all support and criticism is welcome.  
See you all next chapter... hopefully not half a year from now.**


	36. Stitches and Wounds

**A/N: Well, it's been a long time everyone. I can safely say that this is probably the longest hiatus-and-back-to-writing I've ever experienced I** **appreciate** **the constant views, follows, favorites and reviews that I get on this story. Especially the ones where you all support myself and Lumox through the thick and the thin.**

 **I know it's been well over 5 months since the last update and I am back from the dead ladies and gents. Though first before the story I must say that Lumox is now a proud member of the United States Marine Corps. Bless that boy and his endeavors in the armed forces.**

 **However, sadly, that means that he will not be able to help me...** **officially** **... Missing communication equipment is not our doing.**

 **I hope you all have been doing well, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Much love, Deltagod**

* * *

They stood there on the edge of the platform as they waited for their transport to land. It had been a few days since they last set foot on the Sword of Damocles. Simmons glanced towards Hastings, the Helldiver that was now capable of being permanently injured.

"This is Eagle 1, touch down in 10 seconds." The radio crackled as the four Helldivers watched the transport punch through the clouds above them.

They started towards the landing pad, waving to the civilians that had stayed after the speech. Most of the soldiers had returned to patrols, the threat of the Grimm and Bugs still very much present.

"Eagle, this is Hunter 1, we read you loud and clear." Simmons signaled to the transport as it touched down on the landing pad, the doors opening.

"Nikolai!" Nikolai stopped and turned, looking towards the voice as the other three Helldivers continued onto the ship.

"Michael? What is it?" Nikolai questioned as the Captain jogged up, Rose and Anna in tow.

"I just wanted to say thank you one more time." He finished with a quick hug, taking Nikolai by surprise.

Nikolai stood there, arms awkwardly stiff at his side, unsure of what to do in this situation. Michael released him a second later. The militia captain awkwardly rubbed his head as Rose took his place, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you for saving me and my daughter, if you hadn't shown up… I just don't know." Rose stifled a sob as Nikolai felt a squeeze on his leg.

Looking down he saw Anna wrapped around his leg, her tiny arms barely reaching around it. He gave a small chuckle as a faint 'Thank you' left the girl's mouth. Rose let go and Nikolai bent down and gave the girl a pat on the head.

"Come on Nikolai, we'll be back." Wulff called from the transport, it's engines revving up.

Anna let go as Nikolai turned, pausing briefly before spinning back around and dropping to his knee.

'I can't just leave without giving them something.' Nikolai mused as he felt around his belt and up to his breast pocket before his hand felt something. 'Perfect…' He mused as he reached into the pocket and pulled out a shiny gold clip with the emblem of super earth printed on one side.

"Take this…" Nikolai said as he reached towards Anna.

He pushed back a tuft of her hair before pushing the clip into her messy mane. The clip held its place as he stood up. Rose looked at Anna, a smile on her face as Michael gave him a salute. Nikolai returned the salute before turning and hopping on the transport.

"Thank you!" Nikolai barely heard the the little girl as the engines fired up, the doors to the transport sliding closed.

Nikolai watched the family back away from the pad as the transport lifted off the ground towards the sky. He let out a small sigh. Though he heard snickering coming from behind him.

"Jesus christ Nikolai." Wulff chuckled as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

Nikolai passed an amused Simmons and Wulff as he took a seat on the other side of the transport. He let out an extra loud humph as he sat down, clearly embarrassed from the rest of Hunter watching that whole exchange.

"Don't worry Nikolai, at least now you can do half the PR work I do at colonies." Simmons quipped as he clapped his hands together.

Wulff, from the other side of the transport, let out an amused sigh as he looked out the window. The chilled lands of Atlas pulling away as the transport went up and up through the clouds and thinning atmosphere. Pretty soon the horizon of Remnant rounded off as the Sword of Damocles loomed in the distance, just visible through the window.

"Alright men. If anything is certain, and I'm not certain of many things" Simmons elicited a chuckle from the other Helldivers, "Kane is not going to be happy. So be on your best ass-kissing behaviour." Simmons smirked as the shuttle rocked, entering the docking bay of SOD.

The clamps jolted the ship as the door slid open, the platform appearing to be welcoming as the crewmen in the hanger gave salutes and the standard "For Super Earth" to the Helldivers. Nikolai was the most on edge as the four of them made their way along the platform reaching out over the hanger. As they reached the end the door to the main hallway opened and out stepped several soldiers and a timid looking Garry following close behind.

"Admiral on deck!" Came the call of one of the hanger crew, the soldiers and crew saluting briefly before returning to their work.

"Ok, it's been almost 2 days, maybe she's forgotten." Nikolai's hopeful suggestion over their comms was quickly crushed as from the rear Kane's face came into the light.

The four of them stopped abruptly, her cracked smile betraying the pure anger she poorly attempted to hide. 'Well fuck' Simmons grumbled as he gave a hearty wave to the pissed woman in front of him. His stance loosened as he steps became more open and his straight back bent slightly as his shoulders bounced.

"As we can see, Simmons is trying to coax the beast, through friendly motions, into a more relaxed state." Wulff couldn't help but laugh at Nikolais commentary on the situation.

"Kaaaaane, how are you doin'? Good?" Simmons casual chit-chat was met with a silent smile. He swallowed before continuing, "That's great! We just…" Kane shot forward, the scraping of metal and wet tearing reverberated off the hanger walls.

The grip of a knife in her hand, the blade embedded up the the hilt in Simmons abdomen. Simmons fists clenched at his sides, teeth grinding.

"I… e-expected… as much… ." Simmons smirked through the pain as Kane withdrew, her smile still present and the knife still embedded in his stomach just below his chestplate.

Simmons dropped to a knee, blood oozing from the wound as he grasped the area around the grip of the blade. The other three members of Hunter stood by in silence as they watched Kane look down at their commander. They could tell he was in quite a bit of pain, though they made no motion to help, unless they wanted Kane to do the same to them.

"Simmons, I remember saying that I would gut you when you set foot back on the Damocles. Did I not…?" Kane's voice was soft, not conveying any sort of specific emotion as she looked to the other three.

"Oh you did, for sure." Nikolai belted out, hands out as if he was ready to surrender.

"Yup, Simmons, 100 percent, heard that when we dropped." Wulff shot out as he put his hands up in emphasis.

Hastings simply nodded in agreement with the question and 2 previous statements.

"Good, that's what I thought. Now, get Simmons to Medical. I'll be waiting for an in depth update on the situation planetside." Kane received 2 salutes and a nod as she walked off towards the bridge.

Once she was out of earshot, Simmons spoke up, Nikolai and Wulff helping him to his feet. "Sometimes I feel like she's the Admiral and I'm just the poor ol' deckhand." His voice filled with a mix of helpless sadness and dry humor.

"Ease up there Simmons, if you lose anymore blood we'll have to wait for your ass to be cloned." Nikolai quipped, Hastings and Wulff chuckling as Simmons let out an annoyed and pained sigh.

After the short half-drag, half-stumble into the Infirmary they brought Simmons to one of the tables. Wulff and Nikolai helped Simmons onto the operating table. Simmons was just glad to be finally able to lay down. As he did three medical technicians appeared from around the corner and hurried over to Simmons side, adjusting him on the table as another came in with two carts and pushed them next to the table. As they went to work Nikolai, Wulff and Hastings backed away. They watched as the medics cut away his armour and uniform showing the blade embedded in his flesh. A stream of blood oozed down his side, soaking into his uniform and undersuit.

"Alright, take care Simmons, we'll be in the mess hall if you need us." Nikolai gave Simmons a thumbs up as the trio left, even Hastings left with them, leaving a salty Simmons to shove a middle finger in the air until they turned the corner.

"Assholes." Simmons muttered as the medical technicians chuckled, their steady hands unaffected by the quasi-comedy going on in front of them.

"Anesthetic?" One of the medics questioned as she picked up a syringe, he eyes behind clear goggles and face covered by a half face mask with filters.

"Not today, just make it quick." Simmons snapped as the medic put the syringe down, her colleagues holding the area around the knife.

Carefully, the first medic placed a scalpel to the base of the wound, where the serrations of the combat knife met his flesh and carefully slid the implement upwards, slicing the skin smoothly. Simmons could hear the medic humming softly as she opened the wound further, loosening the barbs on the knives serrations.

Simmons let out a slight grunt causing the medic to pause slightly. "I'm fine" Simmons grunted as she continued, albeit hesitantly. Reaching over to the table next to the bed she grabbed a set of retractors. Inserting the instrument into the wound she gave it a gentle squeeze as it pushed the wound open. Blood started to pool as one of the assistants retrieved a tube, a gentle hum followed the flick of a switch as he inserted the tube into the wound, the pool of blood retreating into the tube, winding down below the bed.

Simmons watched the mesmerizing clear, now red, tube as the medic carefully worked the surgical knife around the hooks on the combat knife, removing the torn and stringy flesh them. Once the last string was cut the knife slumped slightly, one of the assistants quickly stabilizing it. The trio nodded as they lifted the knife from the gaping wound and placed it on a tray next to the bed. Grabbing a surgical suture from the tool table she let the callipers go, Simmons flesh stretching back into place. It felt weird to say the least to Simmons, though it wasn't the first time he had been split open. She nodded to the the two assistants, their jobs done. They removed their gloves and washed their hands before exiting to the medical barracks. As she started threading the needle and string through his skin another voice came to his attention.

"Something on you mind Major, you don't normally turn down Anesthetic." Simmons turned his head slightly and saw SOD's Chief Medical Technician, James Gardener, leaning against the sink on the other side of the infirmary.

"James, didn't s-ahh, see you walk in." Simmons grimaced as the medics bloody hands pushed and pulled the needle through nerves and drew pinpricks of blood onto the drying smudges of blood.

"That's what they all say… don't dodge questions Arthur." James pushed away from the sink and walked over to the table, one hand stroking the chin of his mask.

Simmons grumbled as he watched James circle the table. He wasn't going to get out of this easily and running was out of the question since he had a fresh 6 inch slice in his abdomen. The medic finished her suture job as she layered some gel over the wound before lowering a panel down onto simmons abdomen, the green light that flowed from the medical device was warm and made him feel fuzzy. It felt like Angels medical beam and that comforted him.

"Scared… honestly." Simmons let out a sigh as he shook his head. 'What am I saying?' He mentally berated himself as he raised a hand to his helmet.

"That's a first, you actually said something, I've known you four for the better part of 2 decades. I've been your squads medical advisors since you joined SOD all those years ago. You haven't aged a day but I'm pushing 40 now." James chuckled as he pulled up a stool and plopped down next to Simmons bed.

A tense silence permeated the room as the two sat there. They both milled over the fact that it had been that long, 20 years since they were stationed on SOD. It was practically their home, soldiers and staff came and went but you could count the constants on their fingers.

"It's Hastings… isn't it." James somber voice rattled around in Simmons head.

"Yeah." Simmons choked out. The panel that was covering his abdomen raising, the only thing resembling a knife wound was a dull scar running over his skin.

He subconsciously gripped the wound, giving it a soft rub as he sat up. 'Where is this coming from?' Simmons questioned in his mind as he continued to feel the soft scar tissue.

"Afraid he's going to be gone?" James asked as watched Simmons turn and dangle his legs off the table before shoving off, boots clanking on the pristine metal floor.

"Before I joined I lost everything to the bugs. Hastings… Hastings and Nikolai and Wulff, they're the closest things I have to a family, I couldn't bear to lose them too." Simmons fists were clenched as he finished.

"What about the people of Remnant?" James asked, intrigued by this new view of Simmons.

"I owe something to these people, the bugs and grimm threaten to take everything they love from them. I can't let that happen, I can't let anyone else experience what I have… even though I've failed so many times before." Simmons let his fists loosen as he turned away from James, a new suit of armor, undersuit and uniform looked back at him from the other side of the room.

"If you'll excuse me James, I have a family to get back to." Simmons smirked under his helmet as he moved to the familiar plating.

James just smiled as he gave a curt salute, retiring to the medical barracks. One thought leaving his lips as he left.

"He's far from having nothing to lose… I was wrong." The whisper went unheard by Simmons who was pulling on his under-suit.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope that this return was as important to you as it was to me. As always don't forget to leave a review, and if you have ideas and comments that you want to address just PM me, seriously, I will respond sooner or later.**

 **Same with reviews, If you have something to say let me know and I will do my best to answer what you ask.**


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